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University  of  California. 


GIFT  OK 


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U  CX>Jl-/v\tj>.^v^JL 


Class 


San  Francisco 


No. 


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V  : 


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HON.     WILLIAM     WIDGEUY     THOMAS,     JR. 

THK  lOUNDEU  OK  SKW    SWKDKN. 


THE   STORY 


OF 


NEW  SWEDEN 


AS  TOLD  AT 


THE  QUARTER  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION 


OF  THE 

FOUNDING    OF   THE   SWEDISH    COLONY 
IN     THE     A^^OODS     OF 

MAINE    ^        •    I 

June:   25,  1395 


PORTLAND,    MAINE 

LORING,    SHORT   &    HARMON 
1896 


\ 


&'' 


This  volume  is  published  under  the  direction  of 

MiCHKAL    U.    NORBERG,   JOHAN   A.    WkSTIN,   (ind   OlOF   P.    FOGELIN, 

Committee  on   Publication. 

The  extemporaneous  speeches  at  the  Celebration  were  stenographed, 

and  the  volume  edited,  by 

Stanley  J.  Estes. 


THE  TIIUnSTON   PRINT 
POUTLANIJ,  ME. 


CONTENTS. 

Page 
The  Celebration,        ........       9 

Opexing  Address  by  the  President,  F,  O.  Landgrane,       1H 

Prayer  by  Rbv.  D.  S.  Jenks, 15 

Address  of  Welcome,  by  Rev.  Michael  U.  Norberg,  .  17 
Oration  BY  HoN^.  William  W.  Thomas,  Jr.,  ...  25 
Address  of  Hon.  William  W.  Thomas,  Sr.,  .  .  .  103 
Address  of  Hon.  Charles  F.  Daggett,  .         .         .105 

Address  of  Hon.  Herbert  L.  Shepherd,  .  .  .  ,100 
Address  of  Hon.  Charles  A.  Boutelle,  M.  C,      .         .       107 

Address  of  Col.  Fred  N.  Dow, .115 

Address  op  Hon.  Albion  Little, 118 

Address  of  Hon.  Seth  L.  Larrabee,  ....  1*21 

Address  of  Hon.  Edward  Wiggin,  .         .         .         .122 

Letters  from 

Hon.  Henky  B.  Cleaves,  Governor  of  Maine, 125 

Hon.  Thomas  B.  Reed,  Speaker  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives,       .       .  123 

Hon.  Eugene  Hale,  United  States  Senator, J2(; 

Hon.  William  P.  Frye,  United  States  Senator, 12G 

Hon.  Nelson  Dingley,  Ji:.,  Representative  to  Congress 127 

Hon.  Seth  L.  Milltken,  Representative  to  Congress, 127 

Gen.  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  ex-Governor  of  Maine 128 

Hon.  Sidney  Perham,  ex-Governor  of  Maine 129 

George  W.  Norton,  Esq.,  Editor  Portland  Express,      .       .  .       .      129 

Payson  Tdcker,  Esq.,  Gen'l  Manager  Maine  Centra)  R.  U. i:W 

Frank  VV.  Cram,  Esq.,  Gen'l  Manager  Bangor  &  Aroostook  R.  R.,    .        .      130 

Closing  Exercises, 130 

Appendix, .132 


NEW  SWEDEN 

QUARTER-CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION, 


1870.  JUNE  25.  1895. 


Tuesday,  June  25,  1895,  was  a  day  of  jubilee  in 
New  Sweden.  On  that  day,  Maine's  Swedish  settle- 
ment celebrated  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  its  existence 
—  the  quarter-centennial  anniversary  of  the  day  when 
the  first  little  Swedish  colony  of  Maine  sailed  from 
old  Sweden,  to  make  a  new  home  in  the  primeval 
forests  of  the  Pine  Tree  state. 

The  day  dawned  gloomily.  A  didl  rain  fell  from  a 
leaden  sky  and  the  cold  north  wind  blew.  But  the 
rain  soon  ceased,  though  threatening  clouds  still 
obscured  the  heavens,  and  the  wind  dropped  to  a 
refreshing  summer  breeze. 

At  an  early  hour  all  roads  leading  to  New  Sweden 
were  crowded  with  carriages  and  pedestrians.  Along 
the  smooth,  level  turnpike  from  Caribou  rolled  a  con- 
tinuous procession  of  hundreds  of  vehicles.     Among 

2 


10  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

those  driving  toward  the  Swedish  settlement  were 
American  and  Swedish  farmers,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  from  all  the  country  i-onnd  about;  Swedes 
from  every  section  of  Maine  and  from  several  of  the 
other  New  England  states,  and  distinguished  visitors 
and  honored  guests  from  many  of  the  cities  and  towns 
throughout  our  commonwealth. 

Most  of  the  latter  had  arrived  at  Caribou  the  pre- 
vious evening.  They  had  come  over  the  Maine  Cen- 
tral, and  the  new  Bangor  and  Aroostook  railroads,  on 
the  first  through  express  train  from  Portland  to 
Caribou,  and  had  accomplished  the  entire  journey  in 
ten  hours.  Attached  to  this  train  was  a  special  Pull- 
man car,  kindly  placed  at  the  disposition  of  the  guests 
of  New  Sweden  by  the  courtesy  of  Payson  Tucker, 
Esq.,  the  genial  vice-president  and  general  manager 
of  the  Maine  Central  road.  This  car  was  under  the 
charge  of  Col.  Henry  S.  Osgood,  who  left  nothing 
undone  for  the  comfort  of  the  iifuests. 

After  driving  five  miles  from  Caribou,  the  long  line 
of  carriages  reached  the  border  of  our  Swedish  colony  ; 
but  it  was  difficult  to  discern  where  the  American 
settlements  ceased  nnd  the  Swedish  began.  The  belt 
of  forest  dividing  them  liad  been  cut  through,  and  the 
little  clearings  of  the  earlier  Swedish  settlers,  which, 
a  few  years  ago,  only  notched  the  forest  here  and 
there  along  the  wood  roads,  had  been  enlarged  till 
one  clearing  met  the  other,  and  the  visitors  now  drove 
through  continuous  fields,  dotted  with  Swedish  cot- 
tages,   and    green    with     the    growing    crops.     Most 


THE    CELEBRATION.  11 

noticeable  were  the  great  potato  fields,  for  which  Aroos- 
took County  has  become  famous,  where  the  straight 
rows  of  potato  vines  stretch  far  away  over  the  rolling 
country  until  green  rows  and  the  mellow,  brown  earth 
between  are  blended  together  by  distance. 

After  driving  three  miles  through  Swedish  farms 
"  Capitol  hill  "  was  reached.  Here  the  stars  and  stripes 
floated  from  a  tall  flag-staff  in  front  of  the  "  Capitol," 
and  here  a  magnificent  view  lay  spread  out  before  the 
eye.  To  the  west,  the  fertile  fields  of  the  colonists, 
with  their  farmhouses,  churches  and  schools,  extended 
for  miles,  like  a  broad  unbroken  swath  cut  throuoh 
the  woods ;  beyond,  towards  the  south  and  west,  the  for- 
est was  indented  with  the  ample  "fellings"  of  the  Swed- 
ish settlers  in  Woodland,  Perham,  and  the  new  Swedish 
plantation  of  Westmanland ;  to  the  north,  four  miles 
away,  the  broad  green  acres  of  Jemtland,  cut  out  of  a 
great  forest  hillside,  sloped  toward  us ;  northwest, 
mile  on  mile,  could  be  seen  the  clearings  of  Lebanon 
and  Stockholm,  and  those  along  the  Fort  Kent  road  — 
bright  green  patches  nestling  in  the  dark  green  woods 
—  while  all  around,  beyond,  undulating  away  to  the 
dim  blue  hills  on  the  horizon,  lay  somber  and  silent 
the  unbroken  forest. 

At  the  Capitol,  a  large  wagon  decorated  with  flags 
and  the  bright  green  boughs  of  the  birch,  and  drawn 
by  four  powerful  horses,  wheeled  into  the  road  in  front 
of  the  carriage  of  the  founder  of  New  Sweden,  and 
took  its  place  at  the  head  of  the  procession.  The 
wagon   contained    the  Swedish   military  band,  which 


12  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

at  once  began  playing  '*  Hail  to  the  Chief."  Enliv- 
ened by  the  strains  of  martial  music,  and  escorted  by 
the  Swedish  band-wagon,  the  visitors  drove  on  for  a 
mile  over  the  west  road,  then  turning  north,  soon 
passed  into  a  woodland  avenue  and  ascending  a  forest 
ridge,  entered  a  grove  of  gigantic  rock  maple  trees. 

Here,  in  one  of  "  God's  first  temples" — and  a  grander 
one  could  scarce  be  found  —  the  Swedes  had  prepared 
a  vast  open-air  auditorium.  Upon  a  cleared  area  in 
the  center  had  been  placed  long  rows  of  benches  sufifi- 
cient  for  two  thousand  people,  and  fronting  these  was 
erected  a  large  tribune  wdth  seats  for  two  hundred. 
Over  the  tribune  hung  the  flags  of  America  and  Sweden, 
and  over  all  spread  the  leafy  canopy  of  the  forest. 
Here  too  were  gathered  together  a  great  multitude 
—  Swedes  and  Americans,  men,  women  and  child- 
ren —  they  not  only  crowded  the  open  area,  but  they 
filled  the  grove  on  every  hand  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
penetrate.     Literally  "  the  woods  were  full  of  them." 

The  invited  guests  were  at  once  escorted  to  seats  on 
the  tribune,  and  the  great  audience  immediately  filled 
the  benches,  and  crowded  around  outside  in  a  semi- 
circle, standing  in  throngs  between  the  trunks  of  the 
trees  —  the  pillars  of  the  temple.  Farther  away  the 
teams  were  drawn  up  and  horses  picketed  throughout 
the  grove,  while  beyond  were  picnic  parties,  seated  in 
groups  or  strolling  through  the  woods.  The  rays  of 
the  summer  sun,  breaking  ever  and  anon  through  the 
clouds  of  morning,  lighted  up  the  green  forest,  the 
bi*i<i:ht  flaors,  and  the  earnest  faces  of  the  audience,  and 


OPENING    ADDRESS.  13 

falling  at  intervals  upon  the  many-colored  dresses  of 
the  Swedish  maidens  as  they  flitted  from  light  to  shade 
in  the  sylvan  depths,  gave  a  brilliant,  kaleidoscopic 
effect  to  the  surrounding  forest. 


EXERCISES    IN    THE    GROVE. 

Four  thousand  people  were  present  in  the  grove 
when  Mr.  Landgrane,  one  of  our  Swedish  farmers, 
called  the  assemblage  to  order. 

The  exercises  were  opened  by  music  from  the 
Swedish  band.     Then  the  president  said  : 


OPENING    ADDRESS     BY     MR.     FRANK    OSCAR     LANDGRANE, 
PRESIDENT    OF    THE    DAY. 

We  meet  to-day  in  commemoration  of  an  event 
which  wrought  a  complete  change  in  the  social  and 
economical  condition  of  this  place.  We  meet  firstly, 
to  thank  God  for  all  good  things  he  has  given  us  and 
for  the  care  he  has  taken  of  us,  both  before  and  after 
our  arrival  in  New  Sweden.  Secondly,  to  honor 
those  who  conceived  and  executed  the  first  act  in 
this  drama.  Thirdlj^,  to  show  what  an  industrious 
people  can  accomplish  in  a  generation,  and  last  but 
not  least  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  our  outside 
friends,  among  whom  we  have  so  many  who  have 
assisted  us  whenever  opportunity  offered.  To  all  of 
you,  my  friends,  we  have  extended  an  invitation  to  be 
present  with  us  on  this  day,  that  we  may  through  friend- 


14 


THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 


ship  and  brotlierly  love   be  cemented  together   as  one 
people,  and  as  fellow-citizens  of  one  nation. 

We  hope  and  trust  that  any  shortcomings  on  our 
part  in  this  effort  will  be  met  by  you  with  indulgence. 
We  have  been  hampered  very  much  in  this  our  un- 
dertaking by  those    terrible    forest  fires  which  have 


F.   O.    I.AXDGUANE, 
PRESIDENT  OF  THE   DAY. 


raged  in  this  and  adjoining  towns,  and  which  for  two 
weeks  have  kept  us  busy  fighting  that  great  and 
awful  master  of  the  elements.  Flowever,  to-day  we 
are  thankful  to  the  great  God  above,  that  we  are 
permitted  to  meet  you,  our  friends,  on  this  occasion, 
and    endeavor  to  make  you    happy    by  being  happy 


PRAYER     BY     REV.    D.    S.    JENKS.  15 

ourselves.  Knowing  that  all  o'ood  things  are  done  by 
the  grace  of  God,  and  that  therefore  we  owe  Him 
our  gratitude,  I  shall  call  upon  Rev.  D.  S.  Jenks  of 
Caribou,  to  open  the  exercises  upon  this  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  New  Sweden  by 
offering  thanks  to  God  for  the  blessings  He  has  be- 
stowed upon  us  in  the  past,  and  to  pray  for  our  wel- 
fare in  the  future. 


PRAYER  BY  REV.  D.  S.  JENKS,  OF  CARIBOU. 

Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  we  thank 
Thee  for  this  hour.  We  praise  Thee  that  in  con- 
nection with  all  the  experiences  and  circumstances 
that  come  to  us  while  we  are  here  in  this  world,  we 
can  associate  Thy  name,  Thy  wisdom  and  Thy  good- 
ness. 

We  bless  Thee  for  the  occasion  that  calls  us  together 
at  this  time,  for  the  privilege  that  comes  to  many 
hearts  and  homes  on  this  day  as  the  people  recount 
the  goodness  of  God  to  them,  individually,  and  to  this 
community  at  large.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  pros- 
perity of  this  community  in  which  we  are  met  at  this 
time. 

We  pray  that  it  may  always  be  with  thankful  hearts 
that  we  shall  consider  our  national  prosperity  and 
remember  that  it  is  Thou  who  hath  planted  our  nation, 
and  the  communities  that  make  up  our  nation. 

We  praise  Thy  name  for  the  band  of  men  and 
women  who  years  ago  settled  this  colony,  and  that  its 


16  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

settlement    is    connected    closely    with    thoughts    of 
Thee. 

We  believe  that  Thou  art  the  leader  of  men  in  all 
good  and  great  enterprises,  and  as  we  see  what  has 
been  accomplished  here,  we  can  trace  it  to  the  guid- 
ance and  goodness  of  our  God  and  our  Father  in 
heaven. 

We  thank  Thee  that  interwoven  with  all  the  na- 
tional prosperity  of  this  community  there  is  also  the 
religious  life  that  has  played  so  large  a  part  in  mold- 
ing the  minds,  the  thoughts  and  motives  of  this 
people.  We  thank  Thee  for  the  churches  that  have 
been  organized  here,  and  we  believe  Thou  hast  or- 
dained that  material  prosperity  and  religious  activity 
go  hand  in  hand. 

We  are  glad,  not  only  that  the  gospel  has  taken 
root  here,  but  that  in  sweet  union  with  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  has  been  raised  the 'flag  of  our  country. 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  loyalty  of  these  citizens, 
who  have  come  from  afar  to  our  common  country ; 
and  we  pray  that  the  blessings  that  have  rested  upon 
them  in  the  past,  may  be  the  promise  of  what  Thou 
shalt  bestow  in  the  future.  We  praise  Thee  that 
when  the  gospel  and  the  thoughts  of  our  own  tFnion 
take  their  place  in  men's  minds,  there  comes  the 
breaking  down  of  all  barriers  which  exist  between 
races,  and  all  differences  that  exist  between  men. 
We  thank  Thee  for  that  bond  of  union  which  unites 
us  to-day  in  our  thoughts,  in  our  hopes,  in  our  national 
and  religious  life. 


ADDRESS    OF    WELCOME.  17 

Hear  this  our  prayer,  as  we  pray  that  this  day  may 
indeed  be  a  day  of  thanksgiving  and  rejoicing  in  the 
hearts  of  all  who  have  a  part  and  an  interest  in  these 
exercises.  To  Thee  we  look  continually  for  Thy 
blessing  and  guidance,  that  prosperity  may  be  ever 
ours.     In  the  name  of  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

A  Swedish  choir  of  four  male  and  four  female  voices 
beautifully  sang : 

I  love  my  home  among  the  hills. 

Then  followed  the 

ADDRESS    OF    WELCOME, 
BY    REV.    MICHAEL    ULLRICH    NORBERG. 

PASTOR    OF   THE   FIRST   SWEDISH   EYANGELICAL   LUTHERAN    CHURCH    OF 

MAINE. 

At  the  request  of  the  people  of  the  town  of  New 
Sweden  I  bid  you,  Hon.  W.  W.  Thomas,  Jr.,  the 
founder  of  this  colony,  and  all  the  ladies  and  gentle- 
men in  your  company,  a  most  cordial  welcome  to  New 
Sweden,  upon  this  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  day 
when  the  people  of  this  town  were  led  into  the  woods  of 
Maine.  We  feel,  of  course,  most  grateful,  and  not  a  lit- 
tle surprised  that  we  are  deemed  worthy  of  a  visit  from 
so  many  of  the  most  honorable  citizens  of  our  State, 
and  I  assure  you  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  upon  this 
occasion,  and  upon  this  day,  in  the  name  of  the  settlers 
of  this  town,  to  welcome  so  many  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished citizens  of  Maine  to  see  and  bear  witness 
to  the  great  results  of  our  labors. 


18 


THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 


It  was  ;i  little  band  of  men  and  women  that  entered 
these  woods  twenty-iive  years  ngo.  They  had  left 
their  native  land,  and  many  of  them  fathers  and 
mothers,  sisters  and  brothers,  for  an  unknown  shore  to 
make    themselves  a  better  liome,  perhaps,  than  they 


M.    U.    NORBERG, 
PASTOR  OF  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH. 


had   left.     Who    were    these    people    and    where    did 
they  come  from  ? 

There  is  a  beautiful  country  far  away  toward  the 
icy  north.  It  is  a  glorious  land,  with  snowy,  bold  and 
magnificent  mountains,  numberless  rivulets,  where 
crystal  waters  vary  in  shade  and  color  as  the  rays  of 
the   sun  strike    upon  them   on  their  journey   towards 


ADDRESS    OF    WELCOME.  19 

the  ocean,  tumbling  in  countless  cascades  and  rapids, 
filling  the  air  with  the  music  of  their  fall.  It  has  also 
many  exquisite  sylvan  landscapes,  so  beautiful  by  the 
sea  and  lakes,  by  the  hill  and  fountain  sides,  by  the 
river  and  in  the  glades,  that  one  delights  to  linger  by 
them.  From  the  last  days  of  May  to  the  end  of  July, 
in  the  northern  part  of  this  country,  the  sun  shines 
day  and  night  upon  its  mountains,  rivers,  lakes,  fields 
and  farms,  and  so  it  is  that  Sweden  and  Norway  may 
be  called  the  "  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun." 

You  may  have  been  in  different  countries  where 
there  is  no  winter  and  where  flowers  grow  all  the  vear 
round,  but  you  have  never  seen  such  nights  as  these. 

This  country  is  inhabited  chiefly  by  a  flaxen-haired 
and  blue-eyed  race  of  men,  brave,  simple,  honest  and 
good.  They  are  the  descendants  of  the  Northmen 
and  Vikings,  who  in  the  days  of  old,  when  Europe 
was  degraded  by  the  chains  of  slavery,  were  the  only 
people  that  were  free  and  governed  by  laws  made  by 
themselves,  and  when  emerging  from  the  rock-bound 
and  stormy  coast  for  distant  lands,  for  war  or  conquest, 
were  the  embodiment  of  courage  by  land  and  sea. 
They  have  left  to  this  day  an  undying  impression  of 
their  characters  on  the  countries  they  overran  and  in 
which  they  settled.  England  is  chiefly  indebted  for  the 
freedom  she  possesses  and  the  manly  qualities  of  her 
people  to  this  admixture  of  the  Scandinavian  blood, 
which  through  hereditary  transmission  makes  her 
prominent  as  descended  from  the  Scandinavian  rather 
than  the  Anglo-Saxon. 


20  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

Ill  that  beautiful  country  and  among  that  people, 
Mr.  Thomas  (leathered  to(z;ether  a  little  band  of  men 
and  women  that  left  their  country  and  their  homes 
without  any  written  obligation,  but  with  simple  faith 
in  tlie  honor  of  their  leader,  to  make  a  new  home  in 
the  wilderness,  in  a  strange  land  and  among  strangers. 
You  who  are  born  in  America  and  know  the  language 
from  your  cradle-days  and  the  customs  of  the  country, 
do  not  understand  the  hardships  and  toil  of  the  people 
who  came  here  as  strangers,  although  they  may  come 
from  an  intelligent  and  educated  people. 

Of  the  twenty-two  men  who  came  over  with  Mr. 
Thomas,  there  are  but  five  living  here  to-day,  who  now 
sit  on  this  platform,  and  it  gives  me  great  pleasure 
to  show  vou  those  who  have  borne  the  heat  and  bur- 
den  of  the  day.  A  few  have  left  the  town,  and  the 
rest  of  that  little  band  of  pioneers  have  left  for  their 
eternal  home  bevond  the  river. 

New  Sweden  is  known  not  only  to  the  citizens  of 
Maine  but  to  the  whole  Union.  For  that  we  are 
indebted  to  Mr.  Thomas  who  has  always  spoken  \vell 
of  his  "children  in  the  woods,"  and  a  good  reason  he 
has  had,  not  only  because  of  their  good  behavior  but 
especially  for  the  great  results  of  their  labor. 

Gentlemen  and  fellow  citizens  of  Maine,  1  do  not 
need  to  boast  of  the  citizens  of  this  town.  Take  a 
careful  view  of  the  colony  and  you  will  find  beautiful 
farms,  well  cultivated  ;  big  barns  and  storehouses  for 
the  produce  of  the  farms;  nice  residences;  good  busi- 
ness structures ;  large    and  commodious  schoolhouses 


ADDRESS    OF    WELCOME.  21 

for  the  education  of  our  children ;  beautiful  churches, 
and  a  law-abiding  people  who  fear  God  and  do  what  is 
right  to  everybody.  [Applause.]  When  we  then 
consider  that  we  have  had  only  twenty-five  years  to 
accomplish  this,  we  can  with  safety  say  to  the  brethren, 
"  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servants." 

You,  Mr.  Thomas,  in  founding  New  Sweden,  have 
erected  a  living  monument  and  in  your  obituary  will 
be  written,  "  unselfishness,  great  foresight  and  the  wish 
to  do  good  to  your  fellow  men."  [Applause.]  You 
were  the  author  and  the  executor.  You  not  only  con- 
ceived the  idea  but  stood  at  the  helm  and  carried  it 
out,  and  it  has  proved  a  success  if  we  ms,y  judge  by 
looking  at  the  results.  Twenty-five  years  ago  these 
early  pioneers  followed  you  over  the  ocean.  They 
followed  you  because  they  had  faith  in  you,  and  with- 
out that  faith  in  you  none  of  these  people  would  have 
made  what  is  now  New  Sweden.  You  are  not  only 
the  founder  of  the  colony,  but  you  have  always  cared 
for  it  as  a  father,  and  your  children  in  the  woods  have 
always  looked  up  to  you  as  such,  and  they  will  remem- 
ber you  as  Father  Thomas  as  long  as  tradition  lasts 
and  history  lives.  [Applause.]  For  this  and  many 
other  things  which  you  have  accomplished  you  are  and 
will  be  honored.  May  your  life  be  long  and  happy 
and  may  you  see,  before  you  leave  this  earth,  New 
Sweden  pass  the  point  of  your  highest  anticipations. 
[Applause.]  And  when  your  work  is  finished  here 
below,  if  it  were  possible,  we  would  put  on  your  head 
a  crown  of  everlasting  stars.      [Great  Applause.] 


22  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

My  friends,  lot  this  be  ;i  lesson  to  lis  all.  Let  us 
remember  that  he  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow 
where  only  one  grew  before  is  greater  than  the  gen- 
eral of  a  victorious  and  conquering  army,  whose  for- 
ward march  means  more  or  less  destruction  to  life 
and  property.  Let  us  strive  to  be  wise  and  so  act  that 
when  we  lay  down  our  implements  on  earth  our  record 
of  good  deeds  to  humanitv  will  be  evidence  that  we 
have  existed  for  a  good  purpose.  Let  us  remember,  if 
we  are  law-makers  or  farmers,  if  we  are  on  the  pin- 
nacle of  national  fame  or  the  modest  occupants  of  a 
pioneer  cabin,  that  history  will  inevitiibly  dig  to  the 
bottom  of  facts  and  find  the  motives  of  our  acts,  be 
they  greedy  or  unselfish,  be  they  founded  upon  phi- 
lanthropy or  cold  cruelty  to  our  fellow  beings. 

When  looking  around  us  we  see  the  wild  land  in  all 
directions  and  when  we  compare  it  with  the  few  towns 
which  exist  throughout  this  vast  wilderness,  it  seems 
as  if  a'l  laws  of  economy  and  progress  are  directly 
violated. 

There  are  to-day  thousands  upon  thousands  of 
strong  arms  and  willing  minds  ready  to  take  a  life-long 
part  in  bringing  this  land  from  its  wild  state,  into  a 
productive  and  civilized  community,  and  make  it 
profitable  to  themselves,  the  State  and  the  Nation  — 
only  give  them  permission  to  do  so.  But  selfishness 
and  greed  on  one  side,  assisted  by  laws  made  to  order 
in  the  past,  leave  it  a  rendezvous  for  wolves  and  bears. 

History  will  in  course  of  time  dig  at  the  bones  of 
those  who  have  been   so  short-sighted   or  careless  in 


ADDRESS    OF    WELCOME.  23 

offices  of  trust  as  to  permit  the  public  lands  of  Maine 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  those,  who  do  not  use  them 
for  the  purpose  of  advancing  civilization,  enlighten- 
ment and  progress.     [Applause.] 

For  the  assistance  of  the  State  of  Maine,  rendered 
this  colony  in  its  infancy,  we  are  all  very  thankful, 
and  will  leave  it  to  you,  gentlemen,  to  decide  if  it 
was  a  profitable  investment.  If  you  think  it  has  so 
been,  select  another  spot  and  nurse  it  with  the  milk 
of  paternity  and  patriotism.     [Applause.] 

To  the  representatives  of  the  press  I  will  say  this. 
Perhaps  you  expected  more.  Well,  twenty-five  years 
is  a  very  short  time  looking  backward.  Twenty-five 
years  ago  this  town  was  all  covered  with  virgin  for- 
est. This  had  to  be  cut  down,  burned,  cleared,  the 
stumps  broken  up,  the  land  leveled,  and  during  that 
time  bread  and  butter  had  to  be  earned  at  something 
else,  such  as  making  shingles,  cutting  lumber,  etc. 
So,  my  friends  I  am  proud  of  what  we  have  done  and 
for  what  we  have  left  undone  I  beg  your  indulgence. 
[Applause.] 

At  least,  I  wish  to  say  that  it  fills  my  heart  with 
joy  and  gladness  when  I  think  that  I  am  speaking 
not  to  Scandinavians,  or  any  other  kin  of  people,  but 
to  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  are  gathered  to- 
gether as  a  big  family  below  the  stars  and  stripes  in 
"the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave." 
[Applause.] 

Music  by  the  band  followed. 


24 


THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 


The  President  then  said  :  "I  have  now  the  very  great 
pleasure  to  introduce  to  you  the  father  of  this  colony, 
Hon.  W.  W.  Thomas,  jr.,  the  orator  of  the  day." 

Mr.  Thomas  was  greeted  with  loud  and  long-contin- 
ued applause  as  he  stepped  to  the  front  of  the  platform. 
It  was  several  minutes  before  he  was  permitted  to 
commence  his  address. 


"^^^'^^ 


AJC- 


ORATION 


BY 


HON.   WILLIAM   WIDGERY   THOMAS,  JR. 


THE   FOUNDER   OK   NEW   SWEDEN. 


Swedish  Colonists,  "  My  Children  in  the  Woods  "  of  Maine,  and 
You,  MY  American  Friends,  who  Honor  us  with  Youb  Pres- 
ence HERE  To-day  — My  Countrymen  One  and   All:  — 

Twenty-five  years  ago  this  very  day  there  sailed 
away  from  the  shores  of  Sweden  a  little  colony  of 
fifty-one  Swedes. 

This  adventurous  band  then  left  home  and  country, 
and  faced  the  perils  of  a  voyage  of  four  thousand 
miles,  and  the  hardships  and  toils  of  making  a  new 
home  in  the  wilderness  of  a  strange  land  without  so 
much  as  the  scratch  of  a  pen  by  way  of  contract  or 
obligation,  but  with  simple  faith  in  the  honor  and 
hospitality  of  Maine. 

The  colony  was  composed  of  twenty-two  men, 
eleven  women,  and  eighteen  children.  All  the  men 
were  farmers  ;  in  addition,  some  were  skilled  in  trades 
and  professions ;  there  being  among  them  a  lay  pas- 
tor, a  civil  engineer,  a  blacksmith,  two  carpenters,  a 
basket-maker,  a  wheelwright,  a  baker,  a  tailor,  and  a 

3 


26  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

wooden-shoemaker.  The  women  were  neat  and  indus- 
trious, tidy  housewives,  and  diligent  workers  at  the 
spinninic-wheel  and  loom.  All  were  tall  and  stalwart, 
with  blue  eyefi,  blonde  hair  and  cheerful,  honest  faces ; 
there  was  not  a  physical  defect  or  blemish  among 
them,  and  it  was  not  without  strong  feelings  of  state 
pride  that  I  looked  upon  them  as  they  were  mustered 
on  the  deck  of  the  steamship  Orlando,  and  antici- 
pated what  great  results  might  flow  from  this  little 
beginning  for  the  good  of  our  beloved  commonwealth . 

Seven  years  prior  to  this  time,  early  in  1863,  I  had 
first  set  foot  in  Sweden,  sent  there  by  President  Lin- 
coln as  one  of  the  thirty  "  war  consuls "  of  the 
United  States.  During  a  three  years'  residence  in 
Sweden  I  had  acquired  the  Swedish  language ;  had 
become  familiar  with  the  history,  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  people,  and  had  learned  to  know,  respect 
and  admire  the  manner  of  men  and  women  they  were. 
I  had  beheld  also  the  thousands  of  sturdy  Swedish 
emigrants  that  every  year  sailed  away  from  Swedish 
ports  for  America,  to  help  subdue  the  forests  and  open 
up  the  prairies  of  our  own  broad  land.  I  had  done 
whatever  lay  in  my  power  to  augment  this  emigration, 
and  had  seen  with  gratification  the  number  of  Swedish 
emigrants  increase  by  thousands  during  my  sojourn 
in  the  Northland. 

But  there  was  one  fact  connected  with  this  emiura- 
tion  that  to  me  —  a  son  of  the  Pine  Tree  state  — 
was  anything  but  satisfactory.  None  of  all  these 
emigrants  settled  in  Maine  ;  all  passed  by  our  state 
and  went  to  build  up  and  make  strong  and  great  the 


OEATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  27 

states  of  the  West  and  Northwest.  Yet  no  state  or 
territory  in  the  Union  is  better  adapted  by  nature  to 
become  the  home  of  Swedes  than  the  northern, 
wooded  state  of  Maine.  Here  and  in  the  Northhmd 
the  same  mountains  rear  their  altars  to  heaven  ;  the 
same  woodland  lakes  reflect  the  twinkling  stars  ;  the 
same  forests  clothe  the  hillsides  ;  the  same  swift,  clear 
rivers  rush  leaping  to  the  sea ;  the  same  deep  harbors 
notch  the  coast,  and  the  same  islands  by  the  thousand 
guard  the  shores. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  also,  that  with  few  excep- 
tions, as  the  French  in  Canada,  immigrants  from 
Europe  take  up  the  same  relative  position  in  America 
they  occupied  in  the  continent  of  their  birth.  In  fact 
there  seem  to  be  certain  fixed  isothermal  lines  between 
whose  parallels  the  immigrants  from  the  Old  World 
are  guided  to  their  homes  in  the  New.  Thus  the  Ger- 
mans from  the  center  of  Europe  settle  in  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  and  our  other  middle  states  ;  the  French  and 
Spanish  from  Southern  Europe  and  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  make  their  homes  in  Louisiana,  Florida, 
and  all  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  while  the  Swedes 
from  the  wooded  north,  fell  the  forests  and  build  their 
log-cabins  in  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Wash- 
ington, Oregon  —  in  our  northern  range  of  states  — 
the  Pine  Tree  state  forms  one  of  this  northern,  wooded 
range  —  Swedish  immigration  flows  naturally  to  us. 

And  no  better  immigrants  than  the  Swedes  ever 
landed  on  American  shores.  Honest  and  industrious, 
law-abiding  and  God-fearing,  polite  and  brave,  hospit- 
able and  generous,  of  the   same  old  northern  stock  as 


28  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

ourselves,  no  foreign-speaking  immigrants  learn  our 
language  more  quickly,  and  none  become  more  speed- 
ily Americanized  or  make  better  citizens  of  our  great 
Republic. 

Did  Maine  need  immigration  ?     Yes  ;  surel3\ 

Maine  is  a  state  of  great,  but  largely  undeveloped, 
resources.  Our  seacoast,  indented  all  over  with  har- 
bors, invites  the  commerce  of  the  globe ;  our  rivers 
offer  sufficient  power  to  run  the  factories  of  the  nation, 
while  our  quarries  can  supply  the  world  with  building 
material.  In  the  northwestern  portion  of  our  state 
also,  there  was  and  still  is  a  wilderness  domain,  whereon 
is  scarce  a  settler,  larger  in  area  than  the  state  of 
Massachusetts,  covered  with  a  stately  forest  of  valuable 
trees,  possessing  a  soil  of  unusual  depth  and  fertility, 
and  watered  by  plentiful  streams. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  all  these  advantages,  the  cen- 
sus of  1870  revealed  the  startling  fact  that  while  the 
United  States  as  a  whole  had  increased  over  seven  and 
a  half  millions  in  population  in  the  previous  decade, 
our  own  State  of  Maine  had  paused  and  gone  back- 
ward. In  1870,  Maine  numbered  one  thousand  three 
hundred  and  sixty-four  less  inhabitants  than  she  did 
ten  years  before.  With  the  single  exception  of  our 
neighboring  state  of  New  Hampshire,  Maine  was  the 
only  state  in  the  Union  that  had  retrograded  in  popu- 
lation from  1860  to  1870. 

Was  this  a  momentary  halt  in  our  advance,  or  was 
it  the  beginning  of  our  decline?  This  was  a  moment- 
ous question  ;  for  states,  like  men,  cannot  stand  still. 
they  must  grow  or  decay. 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  29 

That  immigration  of  some  sort  was  a  necessity,  and 
that  Scandinavian  immigration  would  be  the  best  for 
us,  I  think  was  quite  generally  admitted.  Indeed  the 
general  subject  of  Scandinavian  immigration  had  been 
briefly  presented  to  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  as 
early  as  1861,  by  Gov.  Washburn  in  his  annual  mes- 
sage. But  how  could  Scandinavian  immigrants  be 
procured  ?  And  how  could  they  be  retained  within 
our  borders,  if  once  we  succeed  in  inducino;  them  to 
come  among  us?  These  were  unsolved  problems,  and 
the  doubters  were  many. 

Our  own  sons  and  daughters,  to  the  manner  born, 
were  deserting  Maine  for  the  West.  Would  not  our 
Scandinavians,  provided  we  succeeded  in  getting  them, 
do  the  same,  and  settle  among  the  great  masses  of 
their  countrymen  already  established  in  the  western 
states  ? 

Again  one  attempt  to  procure  Swedish  immigrants 
for  Maine  had  already  been  tried,  and  had  ended  in 
complete  failure.  A  company  of  Maine  men,  incorpor- 
ated as  the  "  Foreign  Emigrant  Association  of  Maine," 
had  recruited,  in  1864,  some  three  hundred  Swedish 
laborers  and  servants  in  Sweden  and  paid  their  passage 
across  the  Atlantic.  These  immigrants  landed  at  Que- 
bec, where  they  all,  with  one  accord,  disappeared. 
Not  one  of  them  ever  arrived  in  Maine;  and  the  asso- 
ciation dissolved  with  a  loss  of  many  thousand  dollars. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  scattered  Swedes  that 
had  from  time  to  time  drifted  into  our  seaboard  cities 
and  towns  —  less  than  one  hundred  in  all  —  there  were 
no  Swedes  in  Maine. 


30  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  Maine,  and  such  was  the 
condition  of  the  immigration  problem  on  my  return 
from  Sweden  to  my  native  state  at  the  close  of  1865. 

The  conviction  had  gradually  forced  itself  upon  me, 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  attract  or  retain  any 
considerable  number  of  individual  Swedes  witliin  the 
limits  of  our  state,  until  we  first  procured  and  firmly 
established  somewhere  upon  the  soil  of  Maine  a  colony 
of  picked  Swedish  immigrants. 

Such  a  colony  with  its  churches  and  schools,  its 
Swedish  pastors  and  its  Swedish  homes,  its  Swedish 
customs  and  holidays  and  festivities,  it  seemed  to  me, 
would  constitute  a  nucleus  around  which  the  Swedish 
immigration  of  the  future  would  gather,  a  central  point 
whose  attractive  force  would  ever  hold  the  scattered 
Swedes,  who  went  out  to  service,  or  settled  elsewhere 
in  Maine,  within  the  borders  of  our  state. 

But  how  could  such  a  colony  be  procured,  and  how 
could  it  be  established  ? 

This  problem  I  had  gradually  worked  out  in  my  own 
mind,  and  had  arrived  at  a  definite,  practical  plan.  My 
plan  was  this  :  — 

1.  Send  a  commissioner  of  the  State  of  Maine  to 
Sweden. 

2.  Let  him  there  recruit  a  colony  of  young  Swedish 
f  irmei's  —  picked  men  —  with  their  wives  and  children. 
No  one,  however,  was  to  be  taken  unless  he  could  pay 
his  own  passage  and  that  of  his  family  to  Maine. 

3.  A  Swedish  pastor  should  accompany  the  colony, 
that  religi(ui  might  lend  her  powerful  aid  in  binding 
the  colonists  together. 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS.    JR.  31 

4.  Let  the  commissioner  lead  the  colony  in  a  body, 
all  together,  at  one  time,  and  aboard  one  ship,  from 
Sweden  to  America.  Thus  would  they  be  made 
acquainted  with  one  another.  Thus,  also,  would  they 
have  a  leader  to  follow  and  be  prevented  from  going 
astray. 

5.  Let  the  commissioner  take  the  Swedes  into  our 
northern  forests,  locate  them  on  Township  Number 
15,  Range  3,  west  of  the  east  line  of  the  state,  give 
every  head  of  a  family  one  hundred  acres  of  woodland 
for  a  farm,  and  do  whatever  else  might  be  necessary 
to  root  this  Swedish  colony  firmly  in  the  soil  of  Maine. 

Then  all  State  aid  was  to  cease,  for  it  was  confidently 
expected  when  once  the  colony  was  fast  rooted  in  our 
soil  it  would  thrive  and  grow  of  itself,  and  throughout 
the  future  draw  to  Maine  our  fair  portion  of  the 
Swedish  immigration  to  the  United  States. 

Such  was  my  plan.  I  had  a  strong  and  abiding 
faith  that  it  could  be  accomplished.  Immediately  on 
my  return  from  Sweden  I  began,  and  for  four  years  I 
continued,  to  preach  the  faith  that  was  in  me,  both  in 
our  legislative  halls  and  among  our  people.  At  hist 
my  colleagues,  Hon.  Parker  P.  Burleigh  and  Hon. 
William  Small,  commissioners  on  the  settlement  of 
the  public  lands  of  Maine,  united  with  me  in  recom- 
mending my  plan  of  immigration  in  our  official  report 
to  the  Legislature  of  1870.  Gov.  Chamberlain,  one  of 
the  earliest  and  most  constant  friends  of  Scandinavian 
immigration,  warmly  advocated  the  measure.  Col. 
James  M.  Stone,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  innni- 
gration,    placed    the    merits    of  the    plan    before    the 


32  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

House  of  Representatives  in  an  eloquent  speech. 
The  friends  of  the  enterprise  throughout  the  state 
rallied  to  its  support,  and  on  March  23,  1870,  an  act 
was  passed  authorizing  my  plan  of  Swedish  innnigra- 
tion  to  be  tried. 

The  act  established  a  Board  of  Immiuration,  con- 
sisting  of  the  governor,  land  agent  and  secretary 
of  state.  On  March  25,  two  days  after  the  passage  of 
the  act,  the  Board  appointed  me  commissioner  of 
immigration.  The  fate  of  my  plan  was  thus  placed 
in  my  own  hands. 

Having  successfully  arranged  all  preliminaries,  I 
sailed  from  America,  April  30,  and  landed  at  Gothen- 
burg, Sw^eden,  on  the  sixteenth  of  May.  It  was  a 
bright  spring  morning  when  I  set  foot  once  more  on 
Sw^edish  soil,  but  brighter  than  the  dawn  was  the 
opportunity  now  open  to  me  to  accomplish  an  under- 
taking, which  for  years  had  been  the  dream  of  my 
life,  for  the  good  of  my  native  state. 

A  head  office  was  at  once  established  at  Gothen- 
burg. Notices,  advertisements  and  circulars  describ- 
ing our  state  and  the  proposed  immigration,  were 
scattered  broadcast  over  the  country.  Agents  were 
employed  to  canvass  the  northern  provinces,  and  as 
soon  as  the  ball  was  fairly  in  motion,  I  left  the  office  at 
Gothenburg  in  charge  of  a  trusty  agent,  Capt.  G.  W. 
Schroder,  and  traveled  extensively  in  the  interior  of 
Sweden,  distributing  documents  and  talking  with  the 
people  in  the  villages,  at  their  homes,  by  the  roadside, 
and  wherever  or  whenever  I  met  them.  Familiar 
with  the  Swedish  language  and  people  I  was  enabled 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  33 

to  preach  a  crusade  to  Maine.  But  the  crusade  was 
a  peaceful  one,  its  weapons  were  those  of  husbandry, 
and  its  object  to  recover  the  fertile  lands  of  our  state 
from  the  dominion  of  the  forest. 

To  induce  the  right  class  of  people  to  pay  their 
way  to  settle  amono;  us  seemed  indeed  the  most  diffi- 
cult  part  of  the  whole  immigration  enterprise.  I 
therefore  deemed  it  expedient  to  take  this  point  for 
granted  ;  and  in  all  advertisements,  conversations  and 
addresses,  to  dwell  rather  on  the  fact  that,  as  only  a 
limited  number  of  families  covdd  be  taken,  none  would 
be  accepted  unless  they  brought  with  them  the  highest 
testimonials  as  to  character  and  proficiency  in  their 
callings. 

The  problem  which  was  thus  taken  for  granted  soon 
began  to  solve  itself.  Recruits  for  Maine  began  to 
appear.  All  bore  certificates  of  character  under  the 
hand  and  seal  of  the  pastor  of  their  district,  and  all 
who  had  worked  for  others  brouo-ht  recommendations 
from  their  employers.  These  credentials,  however, 
were  not  considered  infallible,  some  applicants  were 
refused  in  spite  of  them,  and  no  one  was  accepted 
unless  it  appeared  clear  that  he  would  make  a  thrifty 
citizen  of  our  good  state  of  Maine.  In  this  way  a 
little  colony  of  picked  men  with  their  wiyes  and 
children,  was  quickly  gathered  together.  The  details 
of  the  movement,  the  arguments  used,  the  objections 
met,  the  multitude  of  questions  about  our  state  asked 
and  answered,  would  fill  a  volume.  I  was  repeatedly 
asked  if  Maine  were  one  of  the  United  States.  One 
inquirer  wished  to  know  if  Maine  lay  alongside  Texas, 


34  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

while  another  seeker  after  truth  wrote,  asking  if 
there  were  to  be  found  in  Maine  any  wild  horses  or 
crocodiles  This  ignorance  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
for  what  had  Maine  ever  done  prior  to  1870  to  make 
herself  known  in  Sweden. 

Neither  was  the  colony  recruited  without  opposi- 
tion. Capital  and  privilege  always  strive  to  prevent 
the  exodus  of  labor,  and  sometimes  are  reckless  as  to 
the  means  they  use.  It  is  sufficient,  however,  to  state 
that  all  opposition  was  silenced  or  avoided. 

On  June  23,  the  colonists,  who  had  been  recruited 
from  nearly  every  province  of  Sweden,  were  assembled 
at  Gothenburg;  and  on  the  evening  of  that  day  — 
midsummer's  eve,  a  Swedish  festival  —  I  invited  them 
and  their  friends  to  a  collation  at  the  Baptist  Hall  in 
that  city.  Over  two  hundred  persons  were  present, 
and  after  coffee  and  cake  had  been  served,  according 
to  Swedish  custom,  addresses  were  made  by  S.  A. 
Hedlund,  Esq.,  member  of  the  Swedish  parliament,  our 
agent,  Capt.  Schroder,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Baptist 
movement  in  Sweden,  and  myself.  The  exercises 
were  concluded  by  a  prayer  from  Pastor  Trouve.  At 
this  meeting  the  colonists  were  brought  together  and 
made  acquainted,  their  purpose  quickened  and  invigor- 
ated, and  from  that  hour  the  bonds  of  common  inter- 
est and  destiny  have  bound  all  the  individuals  into  a 
community.  Such  a  knowledge  of  Maine  and  its 
resources  was  also  imparted  by  the  speakers,  that  the 
very  friends  who  before  had  sought  to  persuade  the 
colonists  not  to  desert  their  fatherland,  exclaimed 
"  Ah,  if  I  could  only  go  too  !  " 


ORATION   BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  35 

In  August,  1637,  the  Swedish  ship  of  war  Kalmar 
Nyckel,  accompanied  by  a  smaller  vessel,  the  Fog  el 
Grip,  set  sail  from  Gothenburg  for  America,  with  a 
Swedish  colony  on  board,  which  founded  the  first 
New  Sweden  in  the  New  World,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Delaware.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-three  years  later, 
at  noon  of  Saturday,  June  25,  and  just  forty  days 
after  my  landing  in  Sweden,  I  sailed  from  the  same 
Gothenburg  in  the  steamship  Orlando,  with  the  first 
Swedish  colonists  of  Maine. 

A  heavy  northwest  gale,  during  the  prevalence  of 
which  the  immigrants  were  compelled  to  keep  below 
while  the  hatches  were  battened  down  over  their 
heads,  rendered  our  passage  over  the  North  Sea  very 
disagreeable,  and  so  retarded  our  progress  that  we 
did  not  reach  the  port  of  Hull  till  Monday  evening, 
June  27.  The  next  day  we  crossed  England  by  rail 
to  Liverpool.  Here  was  an  unavoidable  delay  of 
three  days.  On  Saturday,  July  2,  we  sailed  in  the 
good  steamship  City  of  Antwerp  of  the  Inman  line, 
for  America. 

The  passage  over  the  ocean  was  a  pleasant  one, 
and  on  Wednesday,  July  13,  we  landed  at  Halifax. 
The  good  people  of  this  city  fought  shy  of  us. 
Swedish  immigration  was  as  novel  in  Nova  Scotia  as 
in  Maine.  No  hotel  or  boarding-house  would  receive 
us,  and  our  colony  was  forced  to  pass  its  first  night 
on  this  continent  in  a  large  vacant  warehouse  kindly 
placed  at  our  disposal  by  the  Messrs.  Seaton,  the 
agents  of  the  Inman  steamships.  Next  day  we  con- 
tinued   our   journey    across    the    peninsula    of    Nova 


36  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

Scotia  and  over  the  Bay  of  Fundy  to  the  city  of  St. 
John. 

July  15,  we  ascended  the  St.  John  River  to  Freder- 
icton  by  steamer.  Here  steam  navigation  ceased  on 
account  of  low  water  ;  but  two  river  flatboats  were 
chartered,  the  colony  and  their  baggage  placed  on 
board,  and  at  five  o'clock  next  morning,  our  colony 
was  en  route  again.  Each  boat  was  towed  up  river 
by  two  horses.  The  boats  frequently  grounded  and 
the  progress  up  stream  was  slow  and  toilsome,  but  the 
weather  was  fine  and  the  colonists  caught  fish  from 
the  river  and  picked  berries  along  the  banks. 

Near  Florenceville  the  first  misfortune  befell  us. 
Here,  on  Tuesday,  July  19,  died  Hilma  C.  Clas6, 
infant  daughter  of  Capt.  Nicholas  P.  Clase,  aged  nine 
months.  Her  little  body  was  properly  embalmed, 
placed  in  a  quickly  constructed  cofl&n,  and  brought  on 
with  the  colony.  "  We  cannot  leave  our  little  one  by 
the  way,"  said  the  sorrow-stricken  parents,  "  we  will 
carry  her  through  to  our  new  home." 

On  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  July  21,  the  flat- 
boats  reached  Tobique  Landing.  Six  days  had  been 
spent  in  towing  up  from  Fredericton.  The  journey  is 
now  accomplished  by  railroad  in  as  many  hours.  All 
along  our  route  from  Halifax  to  Tobique  the  inhabi- 
tants came  out  very  generally  to  see  the  new  comers, 
and  there  was  an  universal  expression  of  regret,  that 
so  fine  a  body  of  immigrants  should  pass  through  the 
Provinces  instead  of  settling  there.  At  Tobique  the 
colonists  debarked  and  were  met  by  Hon.  Parker  P. 
Burleigh,  land    agent   and    member  of    the    Board  of 


ORATION   BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  37 

Immigration.  We  obtained  lodgings  for  the  colony 
on  the  hay  in  Mr.  Tibbit's  barn,  and  Mr.  Burleigh  and 
I  driving  round  from  house  to  house,  buying  a  loaf  of 
bread  here,  a  loaf  there,  a  cheese  in  another  place, 
and  milk  wherever  it  could  be  procured,  got  together 
supplies  sufficient  for  supper  and  breakfast. 

Friday  morning,  July  22,  teams  were  provided  for 
the  Swedes  and  their  baggage,  and  at  eight  o'clock  the 
Swedish  immigrant  train  started  for  Maine  and  the 
United  States.  The  teams  were  furnished  by  and 
under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Joseph  Fisher  of  Fort  Fair- 
field. Mr.  Burleigh  and  I  drove  ahead  in  a  wagon, 
then  came  a  covered  carriage,  drawn  by  four  horses. 
This  contained  the  women  and  children.  Next  were 
two  three-horse  teams  with  the  men,  followed  by  a 
couple  of  two-horse  teams  containing  the  baggage. 
So  we  wound  over  the  hills  and  at  ten  o'clock 
reached  the  iron  post  that  marks  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  dominions  of  the  queen  and  the  United 
States. 

Beneath  us  lay  the  broad  valley  of  the  Aroostook. 
The  river  glistened  in  the  sun  and  the  white  houses  of 
Fort  Fairfield  shone  brightly  among  the  green  fields 
along  the  river  bank.  As  we  crossed  the  line  and 
entered  the  United  States,  the  American  flag  was 
unfurled  from  the  foremost  carriage,  and  we  were 
greeted  with  a  salute  of  cannon  from  the  village  of 
Fort  Fairfield.  Mr.  Burleigh  stepped  from  the  wagon 
and  in  an  appropriate  speech  welcomed  the  colony  to 
Aroostook  County,  Maine,  and  the  United  States.  I 
translated  the  speech  and  the  train  moved  on.     Cheers 


38  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

waving    of    handkerchiefs,    and    ever}'^    demonstration 
of  enthusiasm  greeted  us  on  our  way. 

Shortl}^  after  crossing  the  line  an  incident  occurred 
which  showed  of  what  stuff  the  Swedes  are  made. 
In  ascending  a  liill  the  horses  attached  to  one  of  the 
immigrant  wagons  became  balky,  backed  the  wagon 
into  the  ditch  and  upset  it,  tipping  out  the  load  of 
baggage.  The  Swedes  instantly  sprang  from  the 
carriages  in  which  they  were  riding,  unhitched  the 
horses,  righted  the  wagon,  and  in  scarcely  more  time 
than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  reloaded  their  ton  and  a  half 
of  baggage  and  then  ran  the  wagon  by  hand  to  the 
top  of  the  hill.  This  was  the  first  act  of  the  Swedes 
in  Maine. 

At  noon  we  reached  the  Town  Hall  at  Fort  Fairfield. 
A  gun  announced  our  arrival.  Here  a  halt  was  made. 
A  multitude  of  people  received  us.  The  Swedes  got  out 
of  the  wagons  and  clustered  together  by  themselves,  a 
little  shy  in  the  presence  of  so  many  strangers.  The 
assembly  was  called  to  order  by  A.  C.  Gary,  Esq.,  and 
a  meeting  organized  by  the  choice  of  Hon.  Isaac 
Hacker  as  chairman.  Mr.  Hacker  after  some  perti- 
nent remarks  introduced  Judge  William  Small,  who 
welcomed  the  Swedish  immigrants  in  a  judicious, 
elaborate  and  eloquent  address.  He  was  followed  by 
the  Rev.  Daniel  Stickney  of  Presque  Isle  in  a  stirring 
and  telling  speech.  The  remarks  of  these  gentlemen 
were  then  given  to  the  Swedes  in  their  own  tongue  by 
myself,  after  which  at  the  request  of  the  Swedes  I 
expressed  their  gratitude  at  the  unexpected  and  gener- 
ous   hospitality    of    the    citizens    of    Aroostook.     The 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  39 

Swedes  were  then  invited  to  a  sumptuous  collation  in 
the  Town  Hall.  The  tables  groaned  with  good  things. 
There  were  salmon,  green  peas,  baked  beans,  pies, 
pudding,  cake,  raspberries,  coffee,  and  all  in  profusion. 

At  two  o'clock  the  Swedes  resumed  their  journey, 
gladdened  by  the  welcome  and  strengthened  by  the 
repast  so  generously  given  them  by  the  good  people 
of  Fort  Fairfield.  The  procession  passed  up  the  fer- 
tile valley  of  the  Aroostook  —  the  stars  and  stripes 
still  waved  "  at  the  fore."  Many  citizens  followed  in 
wagons.  Along  the  route  every  one  turned  out  to 
get  a  good  look  at  the  new  comers.  A  Swedish  youth 
of  twenty  struck  up  an  acquaintance  with  an  Ameri- 
can young  man  of  about  the  same  age.  It  mattered 
not  that  the  Yankee  did  not  speak  a  word  of  Swedish, 
nor  the  Swede  a  word  of  English,  they  chattered  away 
at  each  other,  made  signs,  nodded  and  laughed  as 
heartily  as  though  they  understood  it  all.  Then  they 
picked  leaves,  decorated  each  other  with  leafy  gar- 
lands, and  putting  their  arms  around  one  another 
marched  along  at  the  head  of  the  procession,  singing 
away  in  the  greatest  good  fellowship,  as  good  friends 
as  though  they  had  known  each  other  for  a  lifetime, 
and  perfectly  regardless  of  the  little  fact  that  neither 
of  them  could  speak  a  word  the  other  could  under- 
stand. Youth  and  fraternity  were  to  them  a  common 
language  and  overleaped  the  confusion  of  tongues. 

As  the  immigrant  train  halted  on  a  hilltop,  I  pointed 
out  the  distant  ridges  of  this  township  rising  against 
the  sky.  ^^  Det  utlofvade  Landed' —  "The  prom- 
ised   land  "  —  shout    the  Swedes,    and  a  cheer    goes 


40  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

along:  the  line.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we  reached 
the  bridcre  over  the  Aroostook  River.  A  salute  of 
cannon  announced  our  approach.  Here  we  were  met 
by  a  concourse  of  five  hundred  peo])le  with  a  fine 
brass  band  of  sixteen  pieces,  and  escorted  into  the 
picturesque  villag-e  of  Caribou.  Hon.  John  S.  Arnold 
delivered  an  address  of  welcome,  and  the  citizens 
invited  us  to  a  bountiful  supper  in  Arnold's  hall, 
where  also  the  settlers  passed  the  night.  At  this 
supper  one  of  the  good  ladies  of  Caribou  happened  to 
wait  upon  our  worthy  land  agent,  and  getting  from 
him  a  reply  in  a  language  she  understood,  was  over- 
joyed and  exclaimed,  "  Why,  you  speak  very  good 
English  for  a  Swede  ! " 

Next  morning  the  Swedish  immigrant  train  was 
early  in  motion  accompanied  by  some  hundred  and 
fifty  citizens  of  the  vicinity.  One  farmer  along  the 
route  put  out  tubs  of  cold  water  for  our  refresh- 
ment. I  thanked  him  for  this.  "  Oh,  never  mind," 
he  replied,  "  all  I  wanted  was  to  stop  the  Swedes  long 
enough  to  get  a  good  look  at  them."  We  soon  passed 
beyond  the  last  clearing  of  the  American  pioneer  and 
entered  the  deep  woods.  Our  long  line  of  wagons 
slowly  wound  its  way  among  the  stumps  of  the  newly- 
cut  wood  road,  and  penetrated  a  forest  which  now  for 
the  first  time  was  opened  for  the  abode  of  man. 

At  twelve  o'clock,  noon,  of  Saturday,  July  23,  1870, 
just  four  months  from  the  passage  of  the  act  author- 
izing this  enterprise,  and  four  weeks  from  the  depart- 
ure of  the  immigrants  from  Sweden,  the  first  Swedish 
colony  of  our  state  arrived  at  its  new  home    in  the 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    VT.    THOMAS,    JR.  41 

wilds  of  Maine.  As  the  waggon  train  stopped  in  the 
woods,  a  little  south  of  where  the  Swedish  capitol  now 
stands,  the  Swedes  instinctively  drew  together  in  a 
little  group  around  me,  and  here  in  the  shadow  of  the 
forest  primeval  we  devoutly  thanked  God,  who  had 
led  us  safely  on  our  long  journey,  and  fervently 
prayed  for  His  blessing  and  guidance  in  the  great 
work  that  lay  before  us.  Here  too  I  baptised  the 
township 

"NEW  SWEDEN," 

a  name  at  once  commemorative  of  the  past  and  auspi- 
cious of  the  future.  Here  in  behalf  of  the  State  of 
Maine  I  bade  a  welcome  and  Godspeed  to  these  far 
travelers,  our  future  citizens,  and  here  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  cross  roads,  under  a  camp  of  bark 
and  by  the  side  of  a  rill  of  pure  spring  water,  Swedes 
and  Americans  broke  bread  together,  and  the  colonists 
ate  their  first  meal  on  the  township,  where  they  were 
to  hew  themselves  homes  out  of  the  forest. 

All  around  us  was  an  unbroken  wilderness.  A 
gigantic  forest  covered  all  the  land,  stretching  away 
over  hill  and  dale  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  In 
these  vast  northern  woods,  the  blows  of  settlor's  ax 
had  never  resounded,  through  their  branches  the  smoke 
from  settler's  cabin  had  never  curled.  Here  roamed 
the  moose,  and  prowled  the  bear,  and  here  the  silence  of 
midnight  was  broken  by  the  hooting  of  the  arctic  owl. 

One  thousand  years  ago  the  great  Scandinavian  sea- 
king  Rollo  sailed  out  from  the  Northland  with  a  fleet 
of  viking  ships.     Landing  on  the  coast  of  France,  he 

4 


42  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

subiugated  one  of  her  fairest  provinces.  Here  the 
Northmen  settled,  and  from  them  the  province  is 
called  to  this  day  Normandy. 

Eifflit  hundred  years  later  the  descendants  of  these 
Northmen,  speaking  French,  sailed  from  Normandy  to 
this  continent  and  settled  Acadia.  When  driven  from 
their  homes  by  the  British  fleet,  a  detachment  of 
Acadians  came  up  the  St.  John  River  and  settled  on 
the  interval,  vvhere  now  stands  the  city  of  Fredericton. 

Expelled  from  their  homes  a  second  time  by  the 
English,  they  followed  up  the  St.  John  to  Grand 
Falls.  British  ships  cannot  sail  up  these  falls,  said 
they,  so  a  hundred  years  ago  they  built  their  cottages 
above  the  falls,  along  the  fertile  valley  of  the  upper 
St.  John,  some  twentv  miles  north  of  New  Sweden. 
There  to-day  dwell  thousands  of  Acadian  French. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  a  little  company  of  Swedes 
sailed  forth  from  the  same  Scandinavia,  whence  issued 
Rollo  and  his  vikings,  and  settled  New  Sweden. 

So  these  two  branches  of  Scandinavian  stock,  sepa- 
rated in  the  ninth  century,  are  now  brought  together 
again  after  the  lapse  of  a  thousand  years,  and  dwell 
side  by  side  in  the  woods  of  Maine. 

There  are  few  better  towns  in  Maine  for  agricul- 
tural purposes  than  New  Sweden.  On  every  hand  the 
land  rolls  up  into  gentle  hard-wood  ridges,  covered 
with  a  stately  growth  of  maple,  birch,  beech,  and  ash. 
In  every  valley  between  these  ridges  flows  a  brook, 
and  along  its  banks  grow  the  spruce,  fir,  and  cedar. 
The  soil  is  a  rich,  light  loam,  overlying  a  hard  layer 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  43 

of  clay,  which  in  turn  rests  upon  a  ledge  of  rotten 
slate,  with  perpendicular  rift.  The  ledge  seldom  crops 
out,  and  the  land  is  remarkably  free  from  stones. 

New  Sweden  lies  in  latitude  47°  north,  about  the 
same  latitude  as  the  city  of  Quebec.  The  boundaries 
of  this  township  were  run  by  J.  Norris,  Esq.,  in  1859. 
It  was  then  designated  as  Township  No.  15,  Range  3, 
west  of  the  east  line  of  the  state,  which  name  it  bore 
for  eleven  years,  until  the  advent  of  the  Swedes. 
Subsequently  the  township  was  set  apart  by  the  State 
for  settlement,  and  in  1861  the  best  part  of  the  town 
was  run  out  into  lots  for  settlers.  These  lots  contained 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  each.  The  State 
surveying  party  consisted  of  Hon.  B.  F.  Cutter,  of 
Standish,  surveyor ;  A.  P.  Files,  Esq.,  of  Gorham,  chain- 
man  ;  Hon.  L.  C.  Flint,  of  Abbot,  explorer,  and  three 
assistants.  The  work  was  commenced  the  last  of 
August,  1861,  and  finished  October  22,  of  the  same 
year.  This  surveying  party  found  a  cedar  tree  marked 
by  J.  Norris  in  1859  as  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
town,  and  the  lotting  of  the  town  was  begun  at  a 
cedar  post  standing  two  links  southwest  of  this  cedar 
tree,  which  post  was  marked  "  T.  No.  15,  R.  3,  Lot 
144,  B.  F.  Cutter,  1861,  JS  "  (the  latter  character  being 
Cutter's  private  mark). 

And  so  this  township  stood  for  nine  years  —  set  apart 
for  settlement,  largely  run  out  into  lots,  but  without 
a  settler. 

The  Board  of  Immigration  very  prudently  refrained 
from  making  any  preparation  for  the  proposed  colony 


44  THE    STORT   OF   NEW   SWEDEN. 

until  it  knew  the  result  of  my  mission  to  Sweden. 
When,  however,  it  appeared  from  my  letters  that  this 
mission  was  a  success,  and  that  a  Swedish  colony  would 
surely  come  to  Maine,  the  Board  at  once  set  about 
making  suitable  preparations  for  the  reception  of  the 
Swedes.  This  duty  devolved  upon  Hon.  Parker  P. 
Burleigh  of  the  Board,  and  it  is  fortunate  the  work 
fell  to  such  tried  and  able  hands.  In  the  latter  part 
of  June,  1870,  Mr.  Burleigh  proceeded  to  Aroostook 
County.  Here  he  instituted  a  reletting  of  this  town 
ship,  reducing  the  size  of  the  lots  from  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  which  for  nine  years  had  been 
offered  to  Americans,  with  no  takers,  to  lots  of  one 
hundred  acres  for  the  Swedes.  The  surveying  party 
was  under  the  charge  of  that  old  and  experienced  state 
surveyor,  the  Hon.  Noah  Barker.  Mr.  Burleigh  con- 
tracted with  Hon.  L.  R.  King  and  Hon.  John  S. 
Arnold,  of  Caribou,  to  fell  five  acres  of  forest  on 
each  of  the  twenty-five  lots.  Re  also  bushed  out 
a  road  into  the  township  and  commenced  building 
twenty-five  log-houses.  In  addition,  Mr.  Burleigh 
bought  and  forwarded  to  the  township  necessary  sup- 
plies and  tools  for  the  colony,  and  in  many  ways 
rendered  services  indispensable  to  the  success  of  the 
enterprise. 

The  Swedes  had  arrived  much  earlier  than  Mr.  Bur- 
leigh anticipated.  Only  six  of  the  log-houses  had  been 
built,  and  these  were  but  partly  finished,  only  two  of 
them  having  glass  in  the  windows.  On  our  arrival, 
the  supplies  and  the  commissioner  of  immigration  were 
stowed  in  one  house,  and  the  Swedes  and  their  baggage 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    AV.    THOMAS,    JR.  45 

packed  in  the  other  five.  So  the  colony  passed  its 
first  night  in  New  Sweden. 

The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath.  The  first  reUgioiis 
service  on  the  township  was  a  sad  one  —  the  funeral  of 
Hiltna  C.  Clase.  The  services  were  held  at  the  bark 
camp  at  the  corner,  and  were  conducted  by  Rev.  James 
Withee,  of  Caribou,  an  American  Methodist.  All  the 
Swedes,  and  manv  families  from  Caribou  attended 
the  funeral  of  this  little  Swedish  girl.  We  buried 
her  on  the  public  lot,  in  a  spot  we  were  forced  to 
mark  out  as  a  cemetery  on  the  very  first  day  of  the 
occupancy  of  this  town.  So  peacefully  slept  in  the 
wild  green  wood  the  only  one  who  had  perished  by 
the  way. 

I  had  anticipated  some  difficulty  in  assigning  homes 
to  the  settlers.  Some  farms  were  undoubtedly  better 
than  others.  To  draw  lots  for  them  seemed  to  be  the 
only  fair  way  of  distribution ;  yet  in  so  doing,  friends 
from  the  same  province,  who  had  arranged  to  help 
each  other  in  their  work,  might  be  separated  by 
several  miles.  Every  difficulty  was  finally  avoided 
by  dividing  the  settlers  into  little  groups  of  four 
friends  each,  and  the  farms  into  clusters  of  four,  and 
letting  each  group  draw  a  cluster,  which  was  after- 
ward distributed  by  lot  among  the  members  of  the 
group.  The  division  of  farms  was  thus  left  entirely 
to  chance,  and  yet  friends  and  neighbors  were  kept 
together. 

The  drawing  took  place  Monday  afternoon,  July  25. 
With  but  two  exceptions,  every  one  was  satisfied,  and 
these  two  were  immediately  made  happy  by  exchang- 


46  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SA\T:DEN. 

ing  with  each  other.  When  this  exchange  was 
effected  even^  Swede  was  convinced  that  just  the  right 
lot  had  fallen  to  him  and  was  enabled  to  find  some- 
thing or  other  about  his  possessions  which  in  his  eye 
made  it  superior  to  all  others.  So  surely  does  owner- 
ship beget  contentment. 

After  the  homesteads  were  thus  distributed,  Mr. 
Burleigh,  Mr.  Barker,  and  myself,  took  the  Swedes  to 
a  hillside  "  chopping,"  northeast  of  the  cross  roads,  and 
showed  them  the  vast  woodland  wilderness  of  Maine, 
stretching  away  unbroken  to  the  horizon,  and  await- 
ing the  ax  and  plow  of  the  settler.  "  Here  is  room 
enough  for  all  our  friends  in  old  Sweden,"  said  the 
Swedes. 

Tuesday  morning,  July  26,  the  Swedes  commenced 
the  great  work  of  converting  a  forest  into  a  home,  and 
that  work  has  gone  happily  on,  without  haste  and  with- 
out rest,  to  this  day. 

Much  remained  to  be  done  by  the  State.  The 
Swedes,  too,  must  be  supplied  with  food  till  they 
could  liarvest  their  first  crop.  To  put  them  in  the 
way  of  earning  their  living  by  their  labor  was  a 
natural  suggestion.  I  therefore  at  once  set  the 
Swedes  at  work  felling  trees,  cutting  out  roads,  and 
building  houses,  allowing  them  one  dollar  a  day  for 
their  labor,  payable  in  provisions,  tools,  etc.  The 
prices  of  these  necessaries  were  determined  by  adding 
to  the  first  cost  the  expense  of  transportation,  plus 
ten  per  cent,  for  breakage  and  leakage. 

Capt.  N.  P.  Clase,  a  Swede  who  spoke  our  language, 
and  could  keep  accounts  in  single   entry  in  English, 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  47 

was  then  placed  in  charge  of  the  storehouse.  He 
opened  an  account  with  every  settler,  charging  each 
with  all  goods  received  from  the  store.  Every 
Swedish  working-party  was  placed  under  a  foreman, 
who  kept  in  a  book  furnished  him  the  time  of  each 
man.  These  time-books  were  handed  in  once  a  week 
to  Capt.  Clas^,  the  storekeeper,  and  the  men  credited 
with  their  work  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  a  day.  The 
Swedes  thus  did  the  work  which  the  State  would 
otherwise  have  been  compelled  to  hire  other  laborers 
to  do,  and  were  paid  in  the  very  provisions  which 
otherwise  the  State  would  have  been  compelled  to 
give  them.  By  this  arrangement,  also,  all  jealousy 
was  avoided  with  regard  to  the  distribution  of  rations  ; 
and  in  their  consumption  the  rigid  Swedish  economy 
was  always  exercised,  which  could  hardly  have  been 
the  case  if  food  had  fallen  to  them  like  manna,  with- 
out measure  or  price. 

All  through  summer  and  fall  there  was  busy  work 
in  this  wilderness.  The  primeval  American  forest 
rang  from  morn  till  eve  with  the  blows  of  the  Swedish 
ax.  The  prattle  of  Swedish  children  and  the  song  of 
Swedish  mothers  made  unwonted  music  in  the  wilds 
of  Maine.  One  cloudless  day  succeeded  another.  The 
heats  of  summer  were  tempered  by  the  woodland 
"shade  in  which  we  labored.  New  clearings  opened 
out,  and  new  log-houses  were  rolled  up  on  every 
hand.  Odd  bits  of  board  and  the  happily  twisted 
branches  of  trees  were  quickly  converted  into  needed 
articles  of  furniture.  Rustic  bedsteads,  tables,  chairs, 
and  the  omnipresent  cradle,  made  their  appearance  in 


48  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

every    house ;  and    Swedish    industry    and    ingenuity 
soon  transformed  every  log-cabin  into  a  home. 

For  myself  it  was  a  pleasure  to  share  the  toils  and 
privations  of  our  new  settlers.  Every  dayl  was  among 
them  from  morn  till  eve.  On  foot  or  on  horseback  I 
visited  them  all,  even  the  most  remote,  and  cheered 
all  at  their  labors ;  and  every  night  I  lay  down  in  my 
log-house  tired  but  happy,  for  every  day  I  had  beheld 
something  done,  something  tangible  accomplished  on 
the  soil  of  Maine. 

One  hundred  acres  of  forest  were  granted  each  set- 
tler ;  a  chopping  of  five  acres  had  been  made  on  each 
lot.  In  nearly  every  instance,  the  trees  were  felled 
on  the  contiguous  corners  of  four  lots,  and  a  square 
chopping  of  twenty  acres  made  around  the  point 
where  four  lots  met,  five  acres  of  which  belonofed  to 
each  of  the  four  farms.  The  largest  possible  amount 
of  light  and  air  was  thus  let  into  each  lot,  and  the 
settlers  were  better  enabled  to  help  one  another  in 
clearing.  As  the  choppings  had  not  yet  been  burnt 
over,  the  houses  were  built  outside  them,  and  being 
placed  in  couples  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  road, 
every  household  had  a  near  neighbor.  Nearly  every 
habitation  was  also  within  easy  distance  of  a  spring 
of  liviuLj;  water. 

The  houses  built  by  the  State  in  New  Sweden  were 
all  ol  uniform  pattern.  They  were  designed  by  our 
able  and  efficient  land  agent,  Hon.  P.  P.  Burleigh,  and 
erected  under  the  immediate  superintendence  of 
Jacob  Hardison  and  Judali  D.  Teague,  Esqs.,  of  Cari- 
bou.    They  were  built  of  peeled  logs;  were  eighteen 


ORATION    BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  49 

by  twenty-six  feet  on  the  ground,  one  and  a  half 
stories  high,  seven  feet  between  floors,  and  had  two 
logs  above  the  second  floor  beams,  which,  with  a 
square  pitch  roof,  gave  ample  room  for  chambers. 
The  roofs  were  covered  with  long  shaved  shingles  of 
cedar,  made  by  hand  on  the  township.  The  space  on 
the  ground  floor  was  divided  off  by  partitions  of  un- 
planed  boards,  into  one  general  front  room  sixteen  by 
eighteen  feet,  one  bedroom  ten  feet  square,  and  pan- 
try adjoining,  eight  by  ten  feet.     On  this  floor  were 


OKE   OF   THE   LOG   HOUSES   BUILT   BY   THE   STATE   IN    1870. 

four  windows ;  one  was  also  placed  in  the  front  gable 
end  above.  In  the  general  room  of  each  house  was  a 
second-size  Hampden  cooking-stove,  with  a  funnel  run- 
ning out  through  an  iron  plate  in  the  roof.  On  the 
whole,  these  log-cabins  in  the  woods  were  convenient 
and  comfortable  structures ;  they  presented  a  pleasing 
appearance  from  without,  and  within  were  full  of  con- 
tentment and  industry. 

It  was  of  course  too  late  for  a  crop.  Yet  I  wished 
to  give  the  Swedes  an  ocular  demonstration  that  some- 
thing eatable  would  grow  on  the  land.  There  was  a 
four-acre  chopping  on  the  public  lot ;  this  had  been 


50 


THE    STORY    OF    NEAV    SWEDEN. 


partially  burnt  over  by  an  accidental  spark  from  the 
camp-fire  at  the  corner.  On  this  chopping  seven 
Swedes  were  set  at  work  on  July  26,  "junking"  and 
hand-piling  the  prostrate  trees.  Mr.  Burleigh  with 
ax  and  hands  assisted  in  rolling  up  the  first  pile. 
Good  progress  was  made,  and  the  next  day,  Wednes- 
day, July  27,  we  set  fire  to  the  piles  and  sent  a  young 


J.  B.  halgren's  house  in  1805. 


lad,  Master  Haines  Hardison,  on  horseback  out  to  the 
American  settlements  in  quest  of  English  turnip  seed 
and  teeth  for  a  harrow. 

On  July  28,  we  explored  with  the  surveying  party 
an  old  tote  road  running  from  the  Turner  place  —  one 
of  the  abandoned  American  farms  in  Woodland  — out 
to  Philbrick's  Corner,  on  the  road  to  Caribou.  We 
found  the  tote  road  cut  off  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
of  the  distance  to  the  village,  saved  a  hard  hill  and  a 
long  pole  bridge,  and  gave  a  good  level  route.  We 
at  once  put  the  tote  road  in  repair  and  used  it  exclu- 
sively.    The  present  turnpike  to  Caribou  follows  sub- 


ORATION    BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  51 

stantially  the  route  of  this  road  from  the  Turner 
place,  now  occupied  by  Jonas  Bodin,  a  Swede,  across 
Caribou  Stream  to  Philbrick's. 

Friday,  July  29,  we  sowed  two  acres  on  the  public 
lot  to  English  turnips.  This  was  the  first  land  cleared 
and  the  first  crop  sowed  in  New  Sweden.  The  land 
was  hand-piled,  burnt,  cleared  and  sowed  within  six 
days  after  the  arrival  of  the  colony.  The  turnips 
were  soon  up  and  grew  luxuriantly,  and  in  November 
we  secured  a  large  crop  of  fair-sized  turnips,  many  of 
them  being  fifteen  inches  in  circumference.  I  am  well 
aware  that  the  turnip  is  regarded  as  a  very  cheap  vege- 
table, but  to  us  who  were  obliged  to  haul  in  every- 
thing eaten  by  man  or  beast,  eight  miles  over  rough 
roads,  this  crop  was  of  great  assistance.  Furthermore 
it  gave  the  Swedes  a  tangible  proof  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil. 

On  this  day  the  first  letters  were  received ;  two 
from  old  Sweden,  directed  to  Oscar  Lindberg.  Four 
basket  bottomed  chairs  for  headquarters  were  hauled 
in  on  top  of  a  load  of  goods  —  the  first  chairs  in  New 
Sweden  —  and  Harvey  Collins,  the  teamster,  brought 
in  word  that  a  Swedish  immigrant  was  at  Caribou  on 
his  way  in. 

July  30,  Saturday,  Anders  Westergren,  a  Swede 
thirty-nine  years  of  age,  came  in  and  joined  the  colony. 
He  sailed  as  seaman  in  a  vessel  from  Philadelphia  to 
Bangor,  there  he  took  up  a  paper  containing  notice 
of  New  Sweden,  and  immediately  came  through  to  us. 
He  was  the  first  immigrant  after  the  founding  of  the 
colony.     A  stalwart  man  and  skilled  in  the  use  of  the 


52 


THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 


broad-ax,  he  rendered   valuable  aid  in  building  hewed 
timber  houses. 

On  this  day  Mr.  Burleigh  left  us,  after  a  week's 
efficient  help.  The  fame  of  the  colony  was  spreading. 
I  received  a  letter  of  inquiry  from  seven  Swedes  in 
Bloomington,  Illinois. 


WMrm 


'sfp^' 


NILS   OLSSON,    THE   FIRST    LAY   MINISTER. 


On  July  31,  the  second  Sabbath,  Nils  Olsson,  the 
Swedish  lay  preacher,  held  public  religious  services  in 
the  Swedish  language  at  the  corner  camp. 

Tuesday,  August  2,  the  immigrants  wrote  a  joint 
letter  to  Sweden,  declarinir  that  tlie  State  of  Maine 
had  kept  its  faith  with  tliem  in  every  particular ;  that 
the  land  was  fertile,  the  climate  pleasant,  the  people 
friendly,  and  advising  their  countrymen  emigrating 
to  America    to  come  to  the  New  Sweden  in  Maine. 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR. 


53 


This  letter  was    published    in  full  in  all  the  leading 
journals  throughout  Sweden. 

The  only  animals  taken  into  the  woods  by  the  colony 
were  two  kittens,  picked  up  by  Swedish  children  on 
our  drive  in  from  Tobique.     On  Wednesday,  August  3, 


WILLIAM  WIDGERY  THOMAS   PERSSON, 
[First  child  born  in  the  colony.] 

a  cock  and  three  hens  were  brought  in  to  Capt. 
Clase.  These  were  the  first  domestic  fowl  on  the 
township.  They  soon  picked  up  an  acquaintance  with 
two  wild  squirrels,  who  became  so  tame  that  they  ate 
meal  out  of  the  same  dish  with  the  fowl. 

Friday,  August  12,  the  second  immigrant  arrived  in 
the  colony.     He  was  a  native  American,  a  good-sized 


54  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

boy  baby,  born  to  Korno,  wife  of  Nils  Persson,  the 
first  child  born  in  New  Sweden.  He  is  alive  and  well 
to-day,  a  young  man  and  a  voter.  He  rejoices  in  the 
name  of  William  Widgory  Thomas  Persson,  and  is 
happy  in  contemplation  of  the  constitutional  fact  that 
he  is  eligible  to  the  office  of  president  of  the  United 
States. 

On  Friday,  August  19,  Anders  Malmqvist  arrived 
from  Sweden,  via  Quebec  and  Portland.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  student,  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  the 
first  immigrant  to  us  direct  from  the  old  country. 

Sunday  afternoon,  August  21,  occurred  the  first 
wedding,  I  then  united  in  marriage  Jons  Persson  to 
Hannah  Persdotter.  The  marriage  ceremony  was  con- 
ducted in  the  Swedish  language,  but  according  to 
American  forms.  In  the  evening  was  a  wedding  din- 
ner at  the  Perssons.  All  the  spoons  were  of  solid  sil- 
ver ;  heirlooms  from  old  Sweden. 

Thus  within  the  first  month  of  the  colony's  existence, 
it  experienced  the  three  great  events  in  the  life  of 
m;an  —  birth,  marriage,  death. 

Between  August  10  and  20  nearly  all  the  choppings 
were  fired.  On  some,  good  burns  were  obtained,  and 
nothing  but  the  trunks  and  larger  branches  of  the  trees 
left  unconsumed  on  the  ground ;  the  fire  merely  flashed 
over  others,  leaving  behind  the  whole  tangled  mass  of 
branches,  trunks,  and  twigs  to  fret  the  settler.  From 
this  time  forward  till  snow  fell,  every  Swede  that  could 
be  spared  from  the  public  works  was  busily  engaged 
from  sunrise  to  sunset  with  ax  and  brand  on  his  clear- 
ing, junking,  piling,  and  burning  the   logs  —  clearing 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  55 

the  land  for  a  crop.  New  Sweden  became  a  landmark 
for  twenty  miles  around.  From  her  hills  arose  ''  a 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day"  and  "a  pillar  of  fire  by 
night." 

By  September  15,  large  patches  of  land  were  suc- 
cessfully burnt  off  and  cleared,  and  the  Swedes  com- 
menced sowing  an  acre  or  half-acre  each  with  winter 
wheat  or  rye.  Sixteen  acres  in  all  were  sowed  with 
rye  and  four  with  wheat  Meanwhile  the  colony 
steadily  increased.  Now  and  then  a  Swedish  immi- 
grant dropped  in,  took  up  a  lot,  received  an  ax  and 
went  to  work.  September  14  a  detachment  of  twelve 
arrived,  and  October  31  twenty  more  followed,  direct 
from  Sweden.  There  were  two  more  births,  and  on 
November  5,  I  saddled  my  horse,  rode  through  the 
woods  and  stumps  to  the  West  Chopping,  and  offici- 
ated at  the  second  marriage,  uniting  in  the  bonds  of 
matrimony  Herr  Anders  Frederick  Johansson  to 
Jungfru  Ofelia  Albertina  Leonora  Amelia  Ericsson. 

The  spirit  of  colonization  possessed  even  the  fowl. 
Although  at  an  untimely  season  of  the  year,  one  of 
Capt.  Clase's  hens  stole  a  nest  under  a  fallen  tree  in 
the  woods,  and  on  September  24,  came  back  proudly 
leading  eleven  chickens.  Game  was  plenty.  I  caught 
hundreds  of  trout  in  the  lakes  beyond  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  township  and  shot  scores  of  partridges 
while  riding  through  the  woods  from  clearing  to  clear- 
ing. This  game  was  divided  among  the  Swedes  and 
made  an  agreeable  diversion  from  the  salt-pork  diet  of 
our  camp  life. 

Every    Sabbath    divine    service    was    held    by   Nils 


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ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  57 

Olsson,  the  Swedish  lay  minister  and  a  Sunday-school 
was  soon  started,  which  is  still  in  successful  operation. 
The  log-houses  made  comfortable  homes  for  each 
Swedish  family,  but  I  soon  became  convinced  that  a 
large,  central  building  was  absolutely  necessary  for 
the  public  and  social  life  of  the  colony.  By  the  wise 
forethought  of  Hon.  Noah  Barker,  the  surveyor  of 
the  township,  a  lot  of  fifty  acres  had  been  reserved 
for  public  uses  at  the  cross  roads  in  the  center  of 
the  settlement.  Here,  on  the  twentieth  of  Sep- 
tember, we  commenced  digging  the  cellar  for  a 
public  building  on  a  commanding  slope  of  land.  We 
began  hewing  out  the  frame  of  the  building  and 
shaving  shingles  for  the  roof  the  same  day.  On  Fri- 
day, October  7,  we  raised  the  frame.  Work  was 
pushed  rapidly  forward,  and  on  Friday,  November  4, 
four  weeks  from  the  raising,  the  house  was  finished 
with  the  exception  of  lathing  and  plastering,  and  the 
vane  was  placed  in  position  on  top  the  tower,  sixty- 
five  feet  from  the  ground.  This  building  is  thirty  by 
forty-five  feet  on  the  ground ;  has  a  cellar  walled  up 
with  hewed  cedar  seven  and  one-half  feet  in  the  clear, 
is  twenty  feet  stud,  and  divided  into  two  stories  each 
ten  feet  high.  The  first  floor  contnins  a  storeroom 
thirty  feet  square,  and  two  offices  fifteen  feet  square 
each.  The  second  story  is  a  hall  thirty  by  forty-five 
feet  on  the  floor,  ten  feet  stud  on  the  sides,  arching 
up  to  fifteen  feet  in  the  clear  in  the  center.  In  the 
large  room  below  were  stowed  provisions  and  tools 
for  the  colony.  The  offices  became  the  headquarters 
of  the  commissioner  of  immigration,  and  the  hall  was 
5 


58  THE    STOHV    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

used  for  many  years  as  a  church,  schoolhouse,  town- 
house,  and  general  rallying-phice  for  the  colony.  In 
the  spring,  too,  when  the  imniigrants  flocked  in,  it 
served  as  a  ''Castle  Garden,"  where  the  Swedish 
families  slept,  cooked  and  ate  under  a  roof  while  they 
were  selecting  their  lots  and  erecting  a  shelter  of 
their  own. 

From  the  lirst  this  structure  has  been  called  by  the 
Swedes  the  "Capitol."  It  has  been  the  heart  of  the 
colony.  It  at  once  gave  character  and  stability  to 
the  settlement,  encouraged  every  Swede  in  his  labors, 
and  has  been  of  daily  need  and  use.  The  Swedish 
Capitol  is  till  standing  to-day,  and  though  shorn  of  its 
ornamental  tower  is  otherwise  in  a  good  state  of 
preservation. 

The  dwelling-houses  erected  by  the  State  were  built 
of  round  logs  piled  one  on  the  other,  with  the  spaces 
between  open  to  wind  and  weather.  On  the  eigh- 
teenth of  October  there  raged  a  fierce  storm  of  wind, 
sleet  and  rain.  The  wind  whistled  through  the  open 
log-houses,  and  all  night  long  we  could  hear  the  crash 
of  falling  trees  blown  down  by  the  gale.  In  the 
morning  I  found  myself  barricaded  by  a  tall  spruce 
that  had  fallen  across  my  doorway,  and  my  nearest 
neio-hbor  arrived  to  tell  me  there  were  eight  trees 
down  across  the  road  between  his  house  and  mine. 
Two  good  choppers  soon  cut  out  the  fillen  trees  from 
the  roads  ;  but  the  storm  warned  us  that  winter  was 
coming.  So  the  Swedes  ceased  for  a  time  clearing 
their  land,  and  went  to  work  fitting  up  their  houses 
for  winter.     They  lirst  split  out  plank   from  the  near- 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    ^V.    THOMAS,    JR.  59 

est  spruce  trees,  and  taking  up  the  floor  nailed  a  tight 
plank  under-floor  to  the  lower  side  of  the  beams. 
The  spaces  between  the  beams  were  then  compactly 
filled  with  dry  earth  and  the  upper  floor-boards  planed 
and  replaced.  A  ceiling  of  matched  boards  was  now 
put  on  overhead,  and  the  room  made  perfectly  tight 
above  and  below.  The  walls  of  round  logs  were  then 
hewed  down  inside  and  out,  the  interstices  havino- 
been  first  "  chinked  up  "  with  moss  and  then  filled  in 
with  matched  strips  of  cedar.  The  walls  were  thus 
made  as  even  and  perpendicular  as  those  of  a  timber 
house,  and  every  building  completely  defended 
against  the  cold  and  blasts  of  winter. 

Early  in  November,  I  secured  places  for  the  winter, 
among  the  farmers  and  lumbermen  of  the  vicinity,  for 
all  the  Swedes  who  wished  to  work  out ;  thirty  were 
thus  supplied  with  labor  at  from  ten  to  twenty  dollars 
a  month,  including  board  and  lodging;.  Supplies  were 
hauled  in  for  those  families  who  were  to  pass  the  win- 
ter in  the  woods,  and  they  were  made  as  comfortable 
as  possible. 

On  November  13  was  held  the  first  meeting  at  the 
Capitol,  and  here  I  distributed  to  the  colonists  the 
certificates  of  their  lots.  They  received  them  with 
eager  eyes  and  greedy  hands. 

The  State  of  Maine  extended  a  helping  hand  to  this 
infant  colony  and  guarded  it  with  fostering  care.  But 
in  so  doing  the  State  only  helped  those  who  helped 
themselves.  The  Swedes  did  not  come  among  us  as 
paupers.  The  passage  of  the  colony  of  the  first  year 
from  Sweden   to  Maine  cost  over  four  thousand  dol- 


60  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

lars,  every  dollar  of  which  was  paid  by  the  immi- 
grants themselves.  They  also  carried  into  New 
Sweden  over  three  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  and  six 
tons  of  baggage. 

Let  this  one  fact  be  distinctly  understood.  The 
Swedish  immigrants  to  Maine  from  first  to  last,  from 
1870  till  to-day,  have  all  paid  their  own  passage  to 
Maine.  The  State  has  never  paid  a  dollar  directly  or 
indirectly,  for  the  passage  of  any  Swede  to  Maine. 

At  the  close  of  1870,  in  reviewing  the  work  already 
accomplished,  it  was  found  that  every  Swede  that 
started  from  Scandinavia  with  me,  or  was  engaged  by 
me  to  follow  after,  had  arrived  in  Maine  and  was  set- 
tled in  New  Sweden.  No  settler  had  left  to  make 
him  a  home  elsewhere,  but  on  the  other  hand  our 
immigrants  had  already  bought,  paid  for,  and  sent 
home  to  their  friends  across  the  water,  five  tickets 
from  Sweden  to  Maine. 

So  healthy  was  the  climate  of  our  northern  woods, 
that  for  the  first  year — for  1870 — there  was  not  a  day's 
sickness   of   man,  woman,  or  child,  in  New  Sweden. 

The  results  of  this  enterprise  to  our  State,  which  were 
thus  achieved  in  1870,  the  year  of  its  inception,  were 
briefly  summed  up  in  my  official  report  for  that  year 
as  follows : 

RESULTS  IN  1870. 

A  colony  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen  Swedes — fifty-eight 
men,  twenty  women,  and  thirty-six  children — have  paid  their 
own  passage  from  Sweden  ;ind  settled  on  the  wild  lands  of 
Maine. 

Seven  miles  of  road  have  been  cut  through  the  forest;  one 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  woods   felled,    one  hundred  acres 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  61 

hand-piled,  burnt  off  and  cleared  for  a  crop,  and  twenty  acres 
sowed  to  winter  wheat  and  rye.  Twenty-six  dwelling-houses 
and  one  public  building  have  been  built. 

A  knowledge  of  Maine,  its  resources  and  advantages,  has  been 
scattered  broadcast  over  Sweden ;  a  portion  of  the  tide  of 
Swedish  immigration  turned  upon  our  state,  and  a  practical  be- 
ginning made  toward  settling  our  wild  lands  and  peopling  our 
domain  with  the  most  hardy,  honest  and  industrious  of  immi- 
grants. 

As  illustrating  how  favorably  the  New  Sweden  of 
Maine  already  began  to  be  regarded  by  the  old  country 
from  which  it  sprung,  I  call  attention  to  the  following 
admirable  letter,  written  to  the  Governor  of  Maine, 
by  Dr.  S.  A.  Hedlund  of  Gothenburg,  Sweden.  Dr. 
Hedlund  is  editor  of  a  prominent  Swedish  newspaper, 
a  member  of  the  Swedish  parliament,  and  one  of  the 
first  writers  and  thinkers  of  Sweden. 

To  the  Honorable  Governor  of  the  State  of  Maine  : 

Sir, —  You  must  not  wonder,  sir,  that  a  Swedish  patriot  can- 
not regard  without  feelings  of  sadness  the  exodus  of  emigrants, 
that  are  going  to  seek  a  better  existence  in  the  great  republic  of 
North  America,  leaving  the  homes  of  their  ancestors,  and  giving 
their  fatherland  only  a  smiling  farewell.  It  will  not  surprise 
you,  sir,  that  this  must  be  a  very  melancholy  sight  to  the  mind 
of  the  Swedes,  and  that  it  must  become  yet  more  so  on  the 
thought  that  many  of  these  emigrants  are  meeting  destinies  far 
different  from  the  glowing  prospects  that  were  held  forth  to  their 
liopeful  eyes.  Not  only  Sweden  will  lose  her  children,  but  they 
will  be  lost  to  themselves  in  the  distant  new  field. 

The  sons  and  daughters  of  old  Sweden,  will  they  maintain, 
among  your  great  nation  their  national  character?  Will  thoy 
retain,  at  least,  some  remembrance  of  their  native  land  ? 

We  know  well,  sir,  that  every  nationality,  strong  as  it  may  be, 
will  be  gradually  amalgamated  in  the  new,  common,  all-absorbing 


62  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

nationality  of  the  new  world,  and  it  would  certainly  not  be  of  any 
advantage,  either  to  America  or  to  civilization,  if  the  different 
nationalties  of  Europe  were  to  continue  their  individual  life, 
with  their  peculiarities _and  enmities,  on  the  soil  of  their  adopted 
country.  We  regard  it,  on  the  contrary,  as  a  special  mission  of 
America  to  absorb  and  amalgamate  all  these  different  European 
elements. 

But,  sir;  will  they  lose  also,  these  American  immigrants,  the 
remembrance  of  their  fatherland?  Must  the  Swedish  inhabitors 
of  your  country  necessarily  forget  the  language  and  customs  of 
their  ancestors  ?  Will  they  forget  the  struggles  and  victories  of 
their  native  land,  its  good  times  and  hard  times?  Will  they  for- 
get the  mother  who  has  born  her  children  with  heavy  and  self- 
denying  sacrifices,  and  will  they  have  no  feelings  left  for  her  love 
and  regret? 

No,  sir;  they  will  not  do  so,  and  the  great  jjeople  of  America 
will  not  require  it.  You  have  not  received  the  children  of  Sweden 
as  outcasts,  who  will  be  adopted  into  the  new  family  only  at  the 
price  of  denying  their  father  and  mother.  On  the  contrary,  sir, 
you  have  given  a  special  impulse  to  the  Swedes,  whom  you 
have  invited  to  colonize  your  state,  to  hold  their  native  land 
in  honor  and  remembrance,  by  giving  the  new  colony,  founded 
in  the  northern  part  of  your  state,  the  name  of  "  New  Sweden  ;  " 
you  have  given  them  also,  in  Swedish  books,  opportunity  for 
recalling  their  fatherland. 

Your  commissioner,  Mr.  W.  W.  Thomas,  Jr.,  one  evening  last 
summer,  assembled  his  little  colony  of  immigrants  to  partake  of 
a  collation,  where  good  wishes  and  kind  words  were  exchanged. 
We,  the  remaining  friends,  left  with  confidence  our  brethren  and 
sisters  in  his  care ;  his  last  and  firm  assurance  was,  "  All  that  has 
been  promised  will  be  kept." 

Yes,  sir;  these  promises  have  been  kept;  but  not  only  that, 
they  have  been  far  surpassed  by  your  generosity.  The  poor 
immigrants,  landing  on  your  shores,  have  been  received  and 
greeted  with  the  most  friendly  welcome.  Their  homes  established, 
their  future  secured,  they  have  not  been  disappointed  in  their 
hopes  by  the  difficulties  and  grievances  of  the  real  state  of  things. 


ORATION    BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  63 

The  young  colony  will  probably  be  the  nucleus  of  an  extended 
colonization,  and  you  will  not,  sir,  I  feel  sure,  find  the  hardy 
Swedes  ungrateful  and  unworthy  of  your  kindness;  they  would 
then,  surely,  be  unworthy  of  their  origin. 

The  colony  of  New  Sweden  has  requested  and  authorized 
the  writer  of  this  letter  to  convey  to  you,  Honorable  Governor 
of  the  State  of  Maine,  the  expression  of  their  sentiments  of  deep 
gratitude,  and  you  will  kindly  allow  me,  sir,  to  add  thereto,  the 
expression  of  the  same  sentiments  of  many  other  Swedes,  who 
have  followed  the  immigrants  with  sympathies. 

Allow  me,  at  the  same  time  to  express  to  the  j^eople  of  Maine, 
who  have  received  their  new  brethren  with  so  much  cordialty, 
the  thanks  of  the  colonists,  who  have  mentioned  more  esjDecially 
two  gentlemen,  Mr.  W.  W.  Thomas  Jr.,  and  Mr.  P.  P.  Burleigh, 
land  agent,  as  objects  of  their  gratitude  and  high  esteem. 

May  the  young  colony  of  New  Sweden  grow  and  flourish, 
not  only  in  material  strength,  but  even  in  developing  tlieir  moral 
and  intellectual  faculties.  And  may  the  new  population  thus 
add  to  your  State  and  to  your  great  Republic  a  good  and  healthy 
element  of  moral  power  from  the  old  world,  and  becoming  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  your  free  institutions,  reflect  that  spirit  on 
their  native  land ! 

What  we  have  lost,  at  present,  in  the  old  fatherland,  will  then 
not  have  been  lost  to  humanity;  on  the  contrary,  the  trees  have 
only  been  transplanted  on  a  fresher  soil,  where  they  will  thrive 
better  and  give  richer  and  moi-e  abundant  fruits.  God  bless  the 
harvest !     God  bless  your  land  ! 

I  am,  sir,  with  the  highest  esteem. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

S.  A.  Hedlund, 
Chief  Editor  of  Gothenburg  Shipping  and  Mercantile  Qazette. 

GoTHENBEKG,  March  25,  1871. 

The  winter  of  1870-71  was  safely  and  comfortably 
passed  by  the  Swedes  in  the  woods.  They  were  ac- 
customed to  cold  weather  and  deep  snow.  Their  lires 
crackled  brightly  and  the  festivities  of  Christmas  time 


64  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

were  observed  as  joyously  in  the  Maine  forest  as  in 
Old  Sweden, 

In  the  meantime,  active  and  efficient  measures 
were  taken  to  increase  the  stream  of  immigration 
thus  happily  started.  A  circular  was  printed  in  Old 
Sweden  describing  the  voyage  of  the  first  colonists, 
their  generous  and  honorable  welcome  at  the  Ameri- 
can border,  the  attractions,  healtlifulness  and  fertility 
of  their  new  homes,  the  location,  extent  and  produc- 
tiveness of  the  settling  lands  of  Maine,  the  advantages 
our  State  offered  to  settlers,  interesting  letters  from 
the  Swedish  colonists  already  on  our  soil,  and  every 
other  fact  and  suggestion  which  seemed  appropriate 
or  advantageous.  This  circular  was  issued  early  in 
December,  1870 ;  a  month  in  advance  of  the  circulars 
of  any  other  state  or  association.  Five  thousand 
copies  were  distributed,  and  the  information  they  con- 
tained read  and  discussed  at  thousands  of  Swedish 
firesides  during  the  most  opportune  time  of  all  the 
year — the  Christmas  holidays. 

Capt.  G.  W.  Schroder  was  appointed  agent  in  Old, 
and  Capt.  N.  P.  Clase  in  New  Sweden.  Large  editions 
of  circulars  were  struck  off  and  distributed  in  the  old 
country  in  quick  succession;  two  columns  of  the 
"  Amerika,"  a  weekly  emigrant's  paper,  were  bought 
for  six  months  and  filled  every  week  with  new  matter 
relating  to  Maine  and  her  Swedish  colony  ;  advertise- 
ments were  also  inserted  in  all  the  principal  news- 
papers taken  hy  the  agricultural  and  other  working 
classes,  and  a  brisk  correspondence  carried  on  with 
hundreds  intending  to  emigrate  to  Maine. 


ORATION   BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  65 

A  special  agent  was  employed  to  travel  and  distrib- 
ute information  in  the  most  northern  provinces  of 
Sweden,  their  population  being  deemed  best  fitted  for 
our  northern  state  ;  and  another  agent,  Mr.  Carl  Johan 
Ek,  one  of  our  first  colonists,  was  sent  back  from  New 
Sweden  to  the  Old,  well  equipped  with  maps,  plans, 
specimens  of  Aroostook  wheat,  rye,  corn  and  potatoes, 
also  maple  sugar  made  by  the  Swedes  in  New  Sweden; 
for  many  in  the  old  countr^y  had  written  '■'  if  one  could 
only  return  to  us,  and  with  his  own  lips  tell  us  what 
you  narrate  on  paper,  we  would  believe."  This  last 
agent  was  sent  out  without  expense  to  the  State,  he 
charging  nothing  for  his  services,  and  the  Inman 
Steamship  Line  generously  furnishing  him  with  a  free 
passage  out  and  back.  A  condensed  circular  was 
printed  in  Swedish  at  Portland,  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  pilots  of  that  harbor,  and  by  them  distributed  on 
board  the  trans- Atlantic  steamers,  while  yet  miles 
away  from  land. 

Seed  thus  well  and  widely  sown  was  soon  followed 
by  a  harvest.  With  the  first  opening  of  navigation 
in  the  spring  of  1871,  Swedish  immigrants  began  to 
arrive  in  New  Sweden ;  first,  in  little  squads,  then  in 
companies  of  twenty,  thirty  and  forty,  till  the  inuni- 
gration  of  the  year  culminated  in  the  last  week  of 
May,  when  one  hundred  Swedes  arrived  via  Houlton 
and  Presque  Isle,  followed  within  five  days  by  two 
hundred  and  sixty  more  by  the  St.  John  River. 

Provisions  and  tools  for  the  colony  and  its  expected 
accessions  were  shipped  in  March  direct  to  Fredericton, 
and  thence   with   the   opening  of  navigation   up   the 


66  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

River  St.  John  to  Tobique  landing.  From  this  hitter 
place  the  goods  were  hauled  into  New  Sweden,  a  dis- 
tance of  but  twenty-five  miles.  Seed,  consisting 
chiefly  of  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats,  corn,  beans  and 
potatoes,  was  early  purchased  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  colony  and  hauled  in  on  the  snow.  A  span 
of  young,  powerful  draft  horses  was  bought  in  the 
early  spring  to  help  on  the  work.  They  were  em- 
ployed in  harrowing  in  the  crops,  grubbing  out  and 
plowing  the  roads,  hauling  logs  and  timber,  until 
November,  when  they  were  sold  for  four  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars,  the  exact  sum  paid  for  them  in  the 
spring. 

A  stable,  thirty  by  forty  feet,  was  erected  on  the 
public  lot,  one  hundred  feet  in  the  rear  of  the  Capitol ; 
the  Capitol  itself  painted,  the  first  floor,  comprising 
the  storehouse  and  offices,  lathed,  plastered,  finished 
and  furnished,  and  the  hall  above  lathed  and  provided 
with  benches  and  a  pulpit.  The  stable  was  erected 
and  the  Capitol  completed  before  the  snow  was  off. 
This  work  was  almost  exclusively  done  by  Swedes,  at 
the  rate  of  one  dollar  a  day,  in  payment  of  supplies 
already  furnished  them  by  the  State. 

The  snow  lingered  late.  Weeks  after  it  had  disap- 
peared in  the  nearest  villages,  it  still  covered  our  new 
clearings  in  the  woods.  As  soon  as  the  black  burnt 
ground  showed  itself  in  considerable  patches,  we 
commenced  putting  in  wheat,  sowing  it  partly  on  the 
melting  snow.  The  first  wheat  was  sowed  May  12  ; 
rye  followed,  then  came  oats  and  barley.  The  State 
horses    harrowed  in  the    grain.     Then    men,    women 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  67 

and  cliildren  were  busy  from  morning  till  night  hack- 
ing in  potatoes  among  the  stumps ;  and  last  of  all, 
each  Swede  cleared  still  a  little  piece  more  of  land, 
and  put  in  turnips. 

Saturday,  May  14,  Jacob  Hardison  and  I  rode  into 
New  Sweden  on  horseback,  through  a  storm  of  sleet 
and  rain,  with  nineteen  young  apple  trees  lashed  on  our 
backs.  With  these  trees  we  set  out  the  first  orchard 
in  the  town  on  the  public  lot,  just  west  of  the  Capitol. 
The  trees  flourished,  and  in  a  few  years  bore  fruit. 

In  the  spring  of  1871,  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
acres  of  land  were  cleared  and  put  into  a  crop,  in- 
cluding the  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  on 
which  the  trees  were  felled  the  year  before  by  the 
State. 

The  song  birds  found  us  out.  The  year  before  the 
forest  was  voiceless.  This  spring,  robins,  sparrows 
and  chickadees  flew  into  our  clearings,  built  their 
nests  among  us,  and  enlivened  the  woods  with  their 
songs.     The  birds  evidently  approved  of  colonization. 

All  the  while  the  immigrants  with  their  ponderous 
chests  of  baggage  were  pouring  in.  They  filled  the 
hall  of  the  Capitol,  the  stable,  and  one  squad  of  fifty 
from  Jemptland,  camped  under  a  shelter  of  boards  at 
the  corner.  Hon.  Albert  A.  Burleigh  took  the  place 
of  Mr.  Barker  as  surveyor.  Mr.  Burleigh,  with  an 
able  corps  of  assistants  arrived  at  New  Sweden  as 
soon  as  practicable  to  commence  surveying  in  the 
woods,  and  pushed  on  his  part  of  the  work  with  vigor 
and  ability  throughout  the  season.  Roads  wore  first 
laid  out  in  all  directions  from  the  Capitol,  then  lots 


68  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

laid  off  to  face  them.  Straight  lines  were  not  deemed 
essential  to  these  ways,  an  easy  grade  was  everywhere 
maintained,  and  hills  and  swamps  avoided.  Work- 
ing parties  of  newly  arrived  immigrants,  each  in 
command  of  an  English-speaking  Swede,  were  de- 
tailed to  follow  the  surveyors  and  cut  out  the  roads. 
Thus  avenues  were  opened  up  in  all  directions  into 
the  wilderness.  Bands  of  immigrants  eagerly  seek- 
ing their  farms  followed  the  choppers,  and  lots  were 
taken  up  as  fast  as  they  were  made  accessible.  Some 
enterprising  Swedes  did  not  wait  for  the  working 
parties,  but  secured  choice  lots  by  ranging  the  woods 
in  advance  ;  the  principle  of  "  first  come  first  served  " 
having  been  adopted  in  the  distribution  of  these 
prizes  of  land. 

Thus  the  stream  of  immigration  that  poured  into 
the  Capitol,  was  continually  disappearing  in  small 
rills  throughout  the  forest.  A  party  of  one  hundred 
crowding  our  accommodations  on  Monday,  would  van- 
ish before  Saturday  night.  A  walk  along  any  wood 
road  soon  revealed  them ;  the  blows  of  the  ax  and  the 
crash  of  falling  trees  led  to  the  men,  and  the  smoke 
curling  from  a  shelter  of  poles  and  bark  near  by,  to 
the  women  and  children. 

A  flash  of  Swedish  humor  occasionally  enliveiied 
our  labors.  An  immigrant,  whose  Christian  name  was 
Noah,  settled  on  the  side  of  a  steep  conical  hill. 
Instantly  the  Swedes  called  the  hill  "  Mount  Ararat,'' 
and  as  Mount  Ararat  it  is  known  to  this  day. 

Our  main  road  to  the  outside  world  for  three  miles 
from    the    Capitol   was    simply    a    passage    way    cut 


ORATION   BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  69 

through  the  woods  the  year  before  to  let  in  the  first 
colony.  The  heavy  immigrant  wagons  and  supply 
teams  had  since  then  rapidly  worn  away  the  earth ; 
and  protruding  stumps  and  deepening  ruts  rendered 
the  road  almost  impassable,  yet  not  a  day's  labor 
could  be  spared  to  it,  till  the  crops  were  all  in.  June 
26,  however,  a  force  of  fifteen  men  and  four  horses 
was  put  upon  this  important  highway.  We  com- 
menced work  at  the  edge  of  the  center  chopping, 
about  a  stone's  throw  south  of  the  Capitol ;  and  until 
October,  whatever  hands  could  be  spared  from  their 
own  clearings  were  kept  at  work  on  this  road.  The 
entire  three  miles  were  grubbed  out  full  width  of  thirty 
feet  through  a  heavy  growth  of  standing  trees ;  two 
miles  of  this  turn  piked  in  as  thorough  a  manner  as 
any  county  road  in  the  state,  and  a  substantial  bridge 
of  hewn  cedar  thrown  across  the  east  branch  of  Cari- 
bou Stream.  The  road  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
shorter  than  the  old  one,  by  which  the  first  colony 
entered  New  Sweden,  curves  around,  instead  of  over 
the  hills,  and  maintains  an  easy  grade  throughout. 
It  was  built  under  the  immediate  supervision  of 
Jacob  Hardison,  Esq.,  than  whom  no  man  in  Aroostook 
was  better  acquainted  with  everything  that  pertains 
to  frontier  life  in  the  woods  of  Maine,  and  who  in  one 
capacity  or  another  assisted  the  Swedish  colony  from 
its  foundation.  In  settling  New  Sweden,  my  right, 
hand  man  was  always  "Jake"  Hardison. 

Meanwhile,  branch  roads  were  being  cut  through 
the  woods  by  smaller  parties  of  workmen.  One  road 
was  made  west  four  miles  throuiih  Woodland  into  Per- 


70  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

ham.  another  east  toward  Lyndon,  a  tliird  northeast 
four  and  one-quarter  miles  to  the  Little  Madawaska 
River,  a  fourth,  seven  and  one-half  miles  to  the  north- 
west corner  of  New  Sweden,  beside  still  other  shorter 
connecting  roads. 

Every  working  pJirty,  whether  on  branch  roads, 
main  road,  public  buildings,  or  other  public  works,  was 
in  charge  of  its  own  special  foreman.  Each  foreman 
called  the  roll  of  his  crew  every  evening,  and  entered 
the  time  of  each  man  in  a  book  provided  for  the  pur- 
pose. These  time-books  were  handed  in  once  a  week 
to  the  State  store-keeper,  and  each  workman  credited 
with  one  dollar  for  every  day's  work,  payable  in  the 
provisions  and  tools  he  was  receiving  from  the  State. 

Thus  the  money  appropriated  by  our  State,  in  aid 
of  the  Swedish  colony,  accomplished  a  twofold  good. 
It  first  supplied  the  Swedes  with  food  and  tools,  ena- 
bling them  to  live  until  they  harvested  their  first  crop. 
Second,  it  was  worked  out  to  its  full  value  by  the 
Swedes,  on  the  roads  and  other  public  works,  which 
are  a  permanent  public  benefit  and  worth  to  the  State 
all  they  cost.  State  aid  to  the  Swedes  was  thus  a 
temporary  loan,  which  they  repaid  in  full,  the  State 
gaining  hundreds  of  new  citizens  by  the  transaction. 

June  6,  1871,  Anders  Herlin  died,  the  first  death  in 
New  Sweden.  June  20,  Jacob  Larsson,  a  newly-arrived 
immigrant,  was  killed  in  his  chopping  by  a  falling 
tree. 

Friday  evening,  June  23,  the  young  people  observed 
Midsommars  afton  —  Midsummer's  eve,  a  joyous, 
Swedish    festival.      They    erected  a  May-pole  at  the 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  71 

center,  decorated  it  with  garlands,  festoons  of  flowers, 
and  green  leaves.  From  the  top  of  the  pole  floated 
the  American  and  Swedish  flags.  They  sang  ring 
songs,  played  ring  games,  and  danced  around  the  May- 
pole to  Swedish  music,  till  far  into  the  night. 

In  June,  arrived  an  important  addition  to  the  colony, 
the  Rev.  Andrew  Wiren,  a  regularly  ordained  minister 
of  the  Lutheran  church.  His  ministrations  continued 
for  many  years.  He  was  ever,  not  only  a  pastor,  but 
the  "  guide,  counselor  and  friend  "  of  his  little  flock, 
whose  love  and  confidence  he  always  possessed. 

On  Sunday,  June  25,  1871,  Pastor  Wiren  held  the 
first  Lutheran  service  in  the  hall  of  the  Capitol.  This 
was  the  first  anniversarv  of  our  sailino;  from  Old  Swe- 
den,  and  I  availed  myself  of  the  opportunity  to  speak 
words  of  praise  and  encouragement  to  the  colonists. 

All  summer  and  fall  new  choppings  opened  out  on 
every  hand ;  the  old  clearings  were  rapidly  enlarged  ; 
shelters  of  poles  and  bark  gave  way  to  comfortable 
timber  houses ;  barns  were  built  near  the  growing 
grain,  and  everywhere  trees  were  falling  and  buildings 
risino;  throusrhout  the  settlement. 

So  many  people  flocking  into  the  woods  soon  cre- 
ated a  demand  for  various  trades  and  crafts.  A 
variety  store  was  opened  in  August  by  a  Swede,  in  a 
commodious  timber  building  near  the  center.  A 
blacksmith,  a  shoemaker,  a  tinman,  and  a  tailor,  set 
up  shops  near  by,  and  were  overrun  with  business. 
A  sawmill  was  built  at  a  good  water  power  on 
Beardsley  brook,  four  miles  from  the  Capitol.  The 
foundations  for  a  grist-mill  were  also  laid. 


72 


THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 


Quite  a  speculation  in  real  estate  arose.  Several 
farms  changed  hands  at  high  fignres,  and  one  lot  of 
only  one  acre  was  sold  for  fifty  dollars  cash.  It  was 
the  corner  lot  next  west  of  the  Capitol,  and  was  sold  to 
build  a  store  on.  This  store  was  afterwards  altered 
into  a  dwelling-house  for  Pastor  Wiren. 

The  crops  grew  rapidly.  Wheat  averaged  five  and 
rye  over  six  feet  in  height.  One  stalk  of  rye,  which 
I  measured  myself,    was  seven  feet   and    five  inches 


OLD   SCHOOL    HOUSE. 


tall.  A  man  stepping  into  any  of  our  winter  rye 
fields  in  August,  disappeared  as  completely  from  view 
as  though  he  were  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  forest. 
Many  heads  of  wheat  and  rye  were  over  eight  inches 
in  length.  Harvest  time  came  early.  Winter  rye 
was  ripe  and  cut  by  the  middle  of  August ;  wheat, 
barley  and  oats  early  in  September. 

Crops  were  raised  by  thirty  families.  These  ar- 
rived the  year  before.  The  new-comers  could  only 
clear  the  land  of  its  trees  this  first  season.  Of  the 
thirty  families,  seventeen  had  built  barns  in  which 
they  stored    their    grain.     The   crops    of    the    others 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    \V.    THOMAS,    JR. 


73 


were  securely  stacked   in  the  field,    and  though  the 
autumn  was  rainy,  the  harvest  was  uninjured. 

As  soon  as  the  grain  was  dry  a  machine  was  ob- 
tained to  thresh  it.  Three  thousand  bushels  of  grain 
were  threshed  out,  of  which  twelve  hundred  were 
wheat,  one  thousand  barley,  and  the  remainder  prin- 
cipally rye  and  oats.  Wheat  averaged  twenty,  and 
yielded  up  to  twenty-five,  and  rye  averaged  thirty- 
five  and  yielded  up  to  forty-two  bushels  to  the  acre. 


N£W   SCHOOL.  HOUSE. 


The  season  was  late  and  wet,  and  much  of  the  wheat 
was  nipped  by  the  rust.  In  an  ordinary  year  a  max- 
imum yield  of  forty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  has 
been  attained. 

An  unusually  heavy  frost  the  middle  of  September, 
which  prevailed  throughout  New  England,  killed  the 
potato  tops  and  stopped  all  further  growth  of  the 
potatoes,  diminishing  the  yield  one-third.  Three  hun- 
dred bushels  to  the  acre  of  those  earliest  planted  was 
nevertheless  obtained,  and  five  thousand  bushels  of 
potatoes  secured,  besides  several  hundred  bushels  of 
beets,  turnips  and  other  roots. 

6 


74  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

On  September  30,  1871,  all  those  who  had  har- 
vested a  crop  were  cut  off  from  further  receipt  of 
state  supplies.  These  colonists  became  not  only  self- 
supporting,  but  delivered  to  the  State,  in  part  payment 
of  their  indebtedness,  five  hundred  bushels  of  potatoes, 
which  were  sold  to  the  later-arrived  immigrants. 

On  November  15,  1871,  state  aid  was  also  cut  off 
from  every  immigrant  of  that  year  who  had  not  wife 
or  children  with  him.  For  all  such,  work  for  the 
winter  was  provided  among  the  American  farmers,  in 
the  lumber  woods,  at  the  tanneries,  quarries,  or 
railroads. 

A  free  public  school  was  opened  in  the  hall  of  the 
Capitol,  November  13.  Pastor  Wiren  was  teacher. 
He  had  acquired  our  language  during  a  four  years' 
residence  in  the  west.  There  were  seventy-seven 
scholars.  The  chief  study  was  the  English  language. 
To  learn  to  read,  write,  and  speak  English  was  deemed 
of  more  importance  than  all  else.  Pastor  Wiren  also 
opened  an  evening  English  school  for  adults. 

Divine  service  continued  to  be  held  in  the  public 
hall  both  forenoon  and  afternoon,  every  Sunday 
throughout  the  year ;  and  the  Swedish  Sunday-school 
kept  up  its  weekly  meetings  without  the  omission  of 
a  single  Sunday.  The  attendance  on  these  religious 
exercises  was  almost  universal. 

As  soon  as  the  earth  could  be  made  to  produce 
grass  or  fodder,  the  Swedes  began  to  provide  them- 
selves with  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  swine. 

They  bought,  however,  no  faster  than  they  could 
pay.     If  a  Swede  could  not  afford  a  span  of  horses, 


ORATION   BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  75 

he  bought  only  one ;  if  he  could  not  afford  a  horse, 
he  provided  himself  with  an  ox ;  if  an  ox  was  beyond 
his  purse,  he  got  a  steer,  and  if  a  steer  was  more  than 
he  could  afford,  he  placed  a  rope  harness  on  his  only 
cow,  and  worked  around  with  her  till  he  could  do 
better. 

Americans,  driving  in,  laughed  at  these  nondescript 
teams,  but  all  the  while  the  Swedes  were  teaching  us 
a  lesson  —  to  live  within  our  means. 

On  Thursday,  September  5,  Bishop  Neely  visited 
New  Sweden  and  conducted  Episcopal  religious  ser- 
vices in  the  public  hall. 

On  Tuesday,  September  26,  1871,  Hon.  Sidney  Per- 
ham,  governor  of  Maine,  and  Hon.  P.  P.  Burleigh, 
land  agent,  accompanied  by  friends,  made  an  official 
visit  to  the  colony.  The  Swedes,  to  the  number  of 
four  hundred,  met  at  the  Capitol  and  gave  the  official 
party  a  warm  reception.  In  behalf  of  the  colony  I 
delivered  an  address  of  welcome,  to  which  Governor 
Perham  eloquently  replied.  Swedish  songs  were 
sung,  speeches  made,  and  every  Swede  shook  hands 
with  the  governor.  A  collation  was  then  served  in 
the  storeroom  of  the  Capitol,  and  in  the  afternoon, 
the  roads,  buildings  and  farms  of  the  Swedes  were 
inspected  by  the  governor  and  land  agent,  who  ex- 
pressed themselves  highly  gratified  with  the  progress 
of  the  colony. 

One  great  cause  of  the  rapid  success  of  this  colony 
has  been  the  active  help  the  Swedish  women  have 
rendered  their  husbands.  Every  Swedish  wife  was 
indeed  a  helpmate.     She  not  only  did  all  the   house- 


76  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

work,  but  helped  her  husband  in  the  clearings  amid 
the  blackened  stumps  and  logs.  Many  of  the  Swedes 
cut  their  logs  into  lengths  for  piling  with  cross-cut 
saws.  Whenever  this  was  the  case,  you  would  see 
that  the  Swedish  wife  had  hold  of  one  end  of  the 
saw ;  and  she  did  her  half  of  the  work  too. 

Once,  riding  out  of  the  woods,  I  met  one  of  our 
Swedish  women  walking  in  with  a  heav}^  sack  on  her 
back.  As  she  passed,  I  noticed  a  commotion  inside 
the  sack. 

"  What  have  you  got  in  there  ?"  said  I. 

"  Four  nice  pigs,"  she  replied. 

"  Where  did  you  get  them  ?  " 

"  Down  river,  two  miles  beyond  Caribou." 

Two  miles  beyond  Caribou  was  ten  miles  from  New 
Sweden.  So  this  good  wife  had  walked  twenty  miles ; 
ten  miles  out,  and  ten  miles  home  with  four  pigs  on 
her  back,  smiling  all  the  way,  to  think  what  nice  pigs 
they  were. 

Another  wife,  Mrs.  Kjersti  Carlson,  when  her  husband 
was  sick  and  her  children  cried  for  bread,  with  her  own 
hands,  felled  some  cedar  trees,  sawed  them  up  into  butts, 


and  rifted  out  and  shaved  these  butts  into  shingles,  one 


bunch  of  which  she  carried  five  miles  through  the 
woods  on  her  back,  to  barter  at  the  corner  store  here 
for  medicine  and  food  for  her  husband  and  children. 

By  such  toil  was  this  wilderness  settled.  But  that 
bunch  of  shingles  has  become  a  part  of  the  history 
of  Maine.  It  occupies  to-day  an  honored  place  in  the 
Capitol  at  Augusta,  and  a  Maine  poetess  has  rendered 
it  immortal  in  her  verse. 


ORATION    BY    HOX.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  77 

The    beautiful   lines  of   Mrs.    H.  G.  Rowe,  on  the 
heroic  deed  of  this  Swedish  wife,  run  thus : 

The  morning  sun  shines  bright  and  clear, 
Clear  and  cold,  for  winter  is  near, — 

Winter,  the  chill  and  dread  : 
And  the  fire  burns  bright  in  the  exile's  home, 
With  fagot  of  fir  from  the  mountain's  dome. 

While  the  children  clamor  for  bi'ead. 

Against  the  wall  stands  the  idle  wheel, 
Unfinished  the  thread  upon  spindle  and  reel, 

The  empty  cards  are  crost ; 
But  nigh  to  the  hearthstone  sits  the  wife, 
With  cleaver  and  mallet, —  so  brave  and  blithe, 

She  fears  not  famine  or  frost. 

Fair  and  soft  are  her  braided  locks. 

And  the  light  in  her  blue  eye  merrily  mocks 

The  shadow  of  want  and  fear  ; 
As  deftly,  with  fingers  supple  and  strong, 
She  draws  the  glittering  shave  along. 

O'er  the  slab  of  cedar  near. 

Neatly  and  close  are  the  shingles  laid. 
Bound  in  a  bunch, —  then,  undismayed, 
The  Swedish  wife  uprose  : 
"  Be  patient,  my  darlings,"  she  blithely  said, 
"  I  go  to  the  town,  and  you  shall  have  bread, 
Ere  the  day  has  reached  its  close." 

Five  miles  she  trudged, —  'twas  a  weary  way  ; 
The  road  was  rough,  and  the  sky  grew  gray 

With  the  snow  that  sifted  down  ; 
Bent  were  her  shoulders  beneath  their  load. 
But  high  was  her  heart,  for  love  was  the  goad 

That  urgeil  her  on  to  the  town. 


78  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

Ere  the  sun  went  down  was  her  promise  kept, 
The  little  ones  feasted  before  they  slept ; 

While  the  father,  sick  in  bed. 
Prayed  softly,  with  tears  and  raurinurs  low, 
That  his  household  darlings  might  never  know 

A  lack  of  their  daily  bread. 

In  January,  1872,  a  weekly  newspaper,  The  North 
Star,  was  started  at  Caribou.  Every  issue  of  this 
paper  contained  one  column  printed  in  the  Swedish 
language.  This  column  was  edited  by  Mr.  E.  Win- 
berg,  one  of  our  Swedish  immigrants,  and  was  exten- 
sively read  in  New  Sweden. 

This  was  the  first  paper,  or  portion  of  a  paper  ever 
published  in  a  Scandinavian  language  in  New  England, 
although  the  Scandinavians  sailed  alongr  our  coast,  and 
built  temporary  settlements  on  our  shores,  five  hun- 
dred years  before  Columbus  discovered  the  islands  of 
our  continent. 

The  examination  of  the  first  public  school,  took 
place  March  15,  1872,  after  a  session  of  four  months. 
The  scholars  had  made  wonderful  progress  in  learning 
our  language.  Many  could  speak  and  read  English 
well,  and  some  had  made  considerable  advance  in 
writing.  These  school  })rivileges  were  highly  prized. 
Some  of  the  scholars  came  to  school  five  miles  through 
the  woods,  slipping  over  the  snow  on  skldor  — 
Swedish  snow-shoes. 

Two  steam  mills  were  erected  and  put  in  operation 
in  the  spring  of  1872,  and  a  large  quantity  of  shin- 
gles and  some  boards  were  sawed. 

The  Swedes  early  became  experts  in  manufacturing 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    AV.    THOMAS,    JR.  79 

shaved  shingles  by  hand.  It  was  soon  admitted  by 
Aroostook  traders  that  the  Swedish  shingles  were  the 
best  made  in  the  county.  Shopping  in  New  Sweden 
was  almost  exclusively  barter.  Bunches  of  shaved 
shingles  were  the  currency  which  the  Swedes  carried 
to  the  stores  of  the  American  traders,  and  with  which 
they  bought  their  goods. 

The  last  mile  of  our  main  road  was  turnpiked  in 
1872,  giving  the  colony  a  good  turnpike  to  Caribou. 
Branch  roads  were  improved. 

In  the  matter  of  government,  New  Sweden  pre- 
sented an  anomaly.  It  was  an  unorganized  township, 
occupied  by  foreigners,  furthermore,  no  legal  organi- 
zation could  be  effected  for  years,  for  there  was  not 
an  American  citizen  resident  in  the  township,  through 
whom  the  first  step  toward  organization  could  be 
taken.  The  first  two  years  of  the  colony  I  found 
time  to  personally  settle  all  disputes  between  the 
colonists,  organize  the  labor  on  roads  and  buildings, 
and  arrange  all  matters  of  general  conceru. 

As  the  colony  increased,  it  became  impossible  for 
one  man  to  attend  to  all  the  details  of  this  work.  A 
committee  of  ten  was  therefore  instituted  to  assist 
me.  Nine  of  this  committee  were  elected  by  the 
colonists,  the  pastor  was  the  tenth,  ex  officio.  Three 
went  out  of  office  every  six  months,  and  their  places 
were  filled  at  a  general  election.  New  Sweden  was 
also  divided  into  nine  highway  districts,  and  each  one 
of  this  committee  had  charge  of  the  roads  in  his  own 
district.  This  decemvirate  satisfiictorily  managed  all 
the  municipal  affaii-s  of  the  colony  until  New  Sweden 
was  legally  organized  into  a  plantation. 


80  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

Many  and  .strange  were  the  experiences  of  life  in 
these  woods  in  the  early  djiys. 

One  evening  Svensson  came  running  up  to  my 
office  in  the  Capitol,  crying  out,  "  My  daughter  is 
lost." 

His  dauifhter  Christine  was  a  little  srirl,  twelve 
years  old,  well  known  and  loved  in  the  colony.  He 
had  taken  her  with  him  in  the  mornintz;  to  a  new 
chopping  where  he  was  at  work,  three  miles  into  the 
woods  toward  the  Madawaska  River.  At  noon  he  had 
sent  her  to  a  woodland  spring  to  draw  water  for  their 
dinner,  but  she  did  not  return.  Becoming  alarmed, 
he  hurried  to  the  spring.  There  were  the  tracks  of 
her  feet  in  the  moist  earth,  but  the  girl  was  nowhere 
to  be  seen.  He  hallooed  and  received  no  answer,  and 
then  searched  the  woods  in  vain  till  nightfall. 

I  at  once  sent  out  a  messenger  on  each  road  in  the 
township,  warning  the  men  to  meet  at  the  Capitol 
next  morning  at  sunrise.  Over  fifty  came,  bringing 
with  them  all  the  dogs  and  all  the  guns  in  the  colony. 
We  followed  Svensson  to  his  clearing,  formed  a  line 
north  and  south  along  the  Madawaska  road,  and  at  a 
signal,  advanced  into  the  woods,  moving  west.  Each 
man  was  to  keep  in  line  with  and  in  sight  of  his  next 
neighbor.  Thus  the  men  advanced  through  the  forest 
for  hours,  shouting  and  firing  guns.  But  there  came 
no  answer. 

At  noon  two  guns  were  fired  in  cjuiek  succession. 
This  was  the  preconcerted  signal.  The  girl  was 
found.  She  was  standini^  in  the  bottom  of  a  dense 
cedar  swamp,  on  all  sides  the  trunks  of  fallen  trees 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  81 

were  piled  up  in  inextricable  confusion.  How  the 
child  ever  got  in  there  was  a  mystery.  She  still  held 
the  pail,  half  full  of  water,  in  her  hand.  But  she  had 
clasped  the  bail  so  tightly  in  her  terror,  that  her 
finger  nails  had  cut  into  the  palm  of  her  hand,  and 
blood  was  dripping  from  her  fingers  into  the  water  in 
the  pail. 

"  Why  where  have  you  been  ?"  joyfully  asked  the 
Swedes. 

"I  don't  know,"  she  murmured  in  a  broken  voice. 

"  What  have  you  been  doing  ?" 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  Where  did  you  pass  the  night  ?" 

"  There  hasn't  been  any  night,"  she  cried  with  a 
wild  glare.  She  was  mad.  The  terrors  of  that  long 
night  alone  in  the  woods  had  taken  away  her  reason. 
She  was  taken  home,  tenderly  nursed,  and  after  a  period 
of  sickness,  was  fully  restored  to  health  of  mind  and 
body.  She  then  said,  that  she  went  to  the  spring, 
filled  her  pail  with  water,  and  was  just  starting  back 
through  the  woods,  when  suddenly  she  saw  in  the 
path  before  her,  a  bear  and  a  cub.  She  turned  and 
ran  for  life.  When  she  dared  to  look  around,  she 
found  the  bear  was  not  following  her.  She  then  tried 
to  walk  around  to  the  clearinii:,  where  her  father  was. 
She  kept  on  and  on,  crying  for  her  father,  till  it  grew 
dark,  then  she  recollected  no  more. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  recognized 
this  colony  at  an  early  day,  by  establishing  a  post- 
office  here,  and  appointing  Capt.  N.  P.  Clas^  post- 
master.    The  road  to  Caribou  was  subsequently  made 


82  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

a  post  route,  and,  weekly  paid  postal  service  com- 
menced July  1,  1873.  Sven  S.  Landin,  one  of  the 
colonists,  was  mail  carrier,  although,  when  pressed 
with  work  on  his  farm,  his  wife  not  unfrequently 
walked  with  the  mail  to  Caribou  and  back  again,  a 
distance  of  sixteen  and  a  half  miles. 

On  October  14,  1873,  Ransom  Norton  Esq.,  clerk  of 
courts  for  Aroostook  County,  visited  the  colony  for 
the  purpose  of  aflfording  the  Swedes  an  opportunity  of 
taking  the  first  step  toward  naturalization.  On  that 
day  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  men  came  forward 
and  publicly  renounced  all  allegiance  to  the  "  King  of 
Sweden  and  Norway,  the  Goths  and  the  Vandals,"  and 
declared  their  ,  intention  of  becoming  American 
citizens. 

In  the  ftill  of  1873,  the  condition  of  the  colony  was 
excellent.  The  little  settlement  of  fifty  had  increased 
to  six  hundred,  and  outside  of  New  Sweden  there 
were  as  many  more  Swedes  located  in  our  state, 
drawn  to  us  by  our  Swedish  colony.  The  settlement 
of  New  Sweden  had  outgrown  the  township  of  that 
name  and  spread  over  the  adjoining  sections  of  Wood- 
land, Caribou  and  Perham.  The  trees  on  2200  acres 
had  been  felled.  1500  acres  of  this  were  cleared  in  a 
thorough  and  superior  manner,  of  which  400  acres 
were  laid  down  to  grass. 

The  crops  had  promised  abundance,  but  an  untimely 
frost  that  followed  the  great  gale  of  August  27, 
pinched  the  late  grain  and  nipped  the  potatoes.  Still 
a  fair  crop  was  harvested.  1 30  houses,  and  nearly  as 
many  barns  and  hovels  had  been  built.     The  colonists 


ORATION    BY    HON.    AV.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  83 

owned  22  horses,  14  oxen,  100  cows,  40  calves,  33 
sheep  and  125  swine. 

The  schools  were  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Such 
an  advance  had  been  made  in  English,  that  most  of 
the  children  above  ten  years  of  age,  could  read  and 
write  our  language  tolerably,  and  speak  it  well.  An 
American  visiting  the  colony  had  no  need  of  an  in- 
terpreter, for  every  child  that  talked  at  all,  could 
speak  English. 

.  I  then  felt  that  all  the  conditions  of  the  plan  on 
which  this  experiment  was  made,  had  been  fulfilled. 
The  colony  had  been  recruited  in  Sweden,  trans- 
planted to  Maine,  fast  rooted  in  our  soil,  and  made 
self-sustaining.  The  experiment  was  an  experiment 
no  longer.  New  Sweden  was  successfully  founded, 
the  stream  of  Swedish  immigration  was  successfully 
started.  The  infant  colony  was  now  strong  enough 
to  go  alone. 

On  Sunday  forenoon,  October  19,  1873,  I  met  the 
Swedes  at  the  Capitol.  Nearly  all  the  settlers,  men, 
women  and  children  were  there.  I  recounted  the 
history  of  the  colony,  since  the  first  adventurous  little 
band  had  met  together  in  old  Sweden,  spoke  such 
words  of  friendly  counsel  as  the  occasion  suggested 
and  justified,  and  then  took  leave  of  the  colony  I  had 
recruited  in  the  Old  World  and  founded  in  the  New. 

In  my  annual  report,  at  the  close  of  1873,  I  recom- 
mended that  all  special  State  aid  to  New  Sweden 
should  cease.  I  further  took  pleasure  in  recommend- 
ing that  the  office  of  commissioner  of  immgration, 
which  1  held,  be  abolished,  since  the  accomplishment  of 


84  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

the  undertakiiiii:  rendered  the  office  no  longer  noces- 
sary  ;  and  thus  laid  down  the  work,  which  for  four 
years  had  occupied  the  better  portion  of  my  Hfe  and 
endeavor. 

But  though  m}^  official  connection  with  New  Sweden 
ceased  with  1873,  this  colony  has  never  ceased,  and 
never  will  cease  so  long  as  life  remains,  to  occupy  a 
large  portion  of  my  heart,  my  thoughts  and  my 
prayers. 

And  New  Sweden  has  ever  continued  to  meet  the- 
fondest  anticipations  of  her  friends.  Her  career  from 
the  beginning  to  this  day  has  been  one  of  constant 
and  unbroken  growth,  development  and  progress. 
She  has  never  taken  a  step  backward,  she  has  never 
made  a  halt  in  her  onward  march.  Her  story  forms 
an  unique  chapter  in  the  history  of  Maine.  That  story 
I  would  love  to  full}^  recount  to  you  step  by  step 
on  this  festal  dav  when  New  Sweden  celebrates  her 
triumphs. 

I  would  fain  speak  to  you  of  the  organization  of  the 
township  into  a  plantation  in  1876,  and  of  its  munici- 
pal and  political  life ;  of  our  grand  decennial  celebra- 
tion here  in  1880,  in  which  three  thousand  persons, 
Swedes  and  Americans,  took  part;  of  the  dedication  of 
the  first  Swedish  Evangelical  Lutheran  church  of 
Maine  on  the  same  day  ;  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the 
Baptist,  the  Mission  and  the  Advent  societies  and  the 
building  and  dedication  of  their  houses  of  worship  ;  of 
the  deep  religious  life  of  the  colony  ;  of  our  schools 
and  the  thorough  work  they  have  accomj)lished,  of  the 
building  of  our  roads  and  bridges;  the  establishment 


FIRST   SWEDISH   EVANGELICAL    LUTHERAN     CHURCH   OF    MAINE   AT   NEW 

SWEDEN. 


86  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

of  mills  and  factories ;  how  year  after  year  the  forest 
has  been  felled,  and  choppings  full  of  blackened 
stumps  transformed  into  smooth  fields  of  waving 
grain  ;  how  the  log  cabins  have  been  replaced  with 
substantial  two-story  frame  houses,  great  barns  built, 
fruitful  orchards  and  gardens  set  out,  and  bountiful 
crops  raised ;  how  the  Swedes  have  come  to  pos- 
sess exoellent  breeds  of  horses  and  cattle ;  how  the 
steer  teams  with  rope  harness  have  disappeared,  and 
how  the  Swedes  drive  to-day  as  good  horses  as  can  be 
found  in  Aroostook  County ;  how  the  good  repute  of 
our  Swedish  fellow  citizens  has  risen  and  risen,  until 
the  only  question  now  asked  by  an  American  shop 
keeper  is  "  Are  you  a  Swede  ?  If  so  you  may  buy  on 
credit  anything  and  everything  you  want." 

All  this  and  much  more  I  would  love  to  recite  in 
detail  to  you,  but  the  sun  of  this  long  summer's  day 
would  set  before  the  half  could  be  told.  I  must,  how- 
ever, crave  your  indulgence  to  make  brief  mention  of 
two  marked    characteristics  of  our  Swedish  brethren. 

New  Sweden  is  a  colony  of  churchgoers.  Nearly 
every  adult  Swede  is  a  church-member  and  nearly  alj 
the  colonists,  old  and  young,  attend  public  religious 
services  every  Sunday  the  whole  year  round.  And 
while  praising  the  Lord  within  their  comfortable 
churches,  they  do  not  allow  their  horses  to  freeze  out- 
side. The  Swedes  do  not  forget  that  "a  merciful  man 
is  merciful  to  his  beast."  In  the  rear  of  every  Swed- 
ish church  you  will  see  a  long,  low  log  hovel  or  stable. 
The  openings  between  the  logs  are  all  tightly  chincked 
up,  and  here,  even  in  the  coldest  days  of  winter,   the 


ORATION   BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR. 


87 


horses  stand  in  the  long  double  rows  of  stalls, 
blanketed,  comfortable  and  steaming  with  warmth, 
while  their  owners  worship  God  with  clear  consciences 
in  His  temple  hard  by. 

I  rejoice  also  to  state  that  New  Sweden  is  and  always 
has  been  a  temperance  colony.      There  was  never  a 


BAPTIST   CHURCH   IN   NEW    SWEDEN. 


rum  shop  in  the  settlement,  and  strong  drink  has 
ever  been  as  good  as  unknown  throughout  this  com- 
munity. The  Swedes  have  devoted  the  fruits  of  their 
labors  to  improving  their  farms,  increasing  their  stock, 
and  rendering  their  homes  more  comfortable  and 
beautiful.  They  have  never  squandered  their  health 
or  wealth  in  rum. 


88 


THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 


Time  will  now  only  permit  me  to  speak  briefly  of  the 
status  of  New  Sweden  to-day,  and  of  some  of  the 
results  which  this  Swedish  colony  has  achieved  on 
American  soil. 

New  Sweden  has  already  celebrated  this  twenty-fifth 
year  of  her  existence  by  becoming  incorporated  as  a 


L.    P.    I.ARSON. 
FIRST  SELECTMAN  OF  NEW  SWEDEN. 


town,  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  January  last,  and 
taking  her  place  as  a  full  fledged  municipality  among 
her  sister  towns  in  Maine. 

The  town  of  New  Sweden    numbers   to-day  seven 
hundred  and 'seventeen  inhabitants,  but  these  figures 


ORATION    BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  89 

represent  less  than  one  half  of  the  Swedish  settlement 
which  lies  round  about  us.  The  colony  soon  outgrew 
the  boundaries  of  this  township  and  spread  over  the 
adjacent  portions  of  Woodland,  Caribou  and  Perliam, 
lying  to  the  southward.  Later  our  Swedish  pioneers 
penetrated  into  the  forest  to  the  west  and  north,  and 
have  there  made  permanent  settlements. 

On  June  1,  1892,  the  Swedes  organized  Township 
No.  15,  Range  4,  lying  west  of  New  Sweden,  into  a 
plantation,  and  named  it  "  Westraanland  "  from  one  of 
the  provinces  of  the  Old  Country  ;  and  on  March  23, 
of  this  year,  Township  No.  16,  Range  3,  adjoining 
New  Sweden  on  the  north,  was  legally  organized  as 
"  Stockholm,"  thus  perpetuating  the  name  of  the 
beautiful  capital  of  Sweden  in  our  own  state. 

New  Sweden  therefore,  does  not  come  solitary  and 
alone  to  this  quarter-centennial  jubilee.  She  comes 
leading  by  the  hand  two  fair  daughters,  Westmanland 
and  Stockholm.  Aye  !  more.  She  comes  leading  her 
sons  and  daughters  by  hundreds  from  the  adjoining 
American  towns  of  Woodland,  Caribou  and  Perham. 

And  there  is  one  son  New  Sweden  leads  with  pecu- 
liar pride  to  this  feast.  John  Hedman,  a  Swedish  lad, 
reared  on  this  township,  graduates  this  year  with  high 
honors  at  Colby  University,  Waterville,  Maine.*  Surely 
our  Swedes  have  not  forgotten  that  they  are  the 
countrymen  of  Linnaeus  and  Swedenborg,  of  Geijer 
and  Tegner  and^ Victor  Rydberg.  Surely  among  the 
blackened  stumps^of  their  forest  clearings,  our  Swedish 
pioneers  have_^looked  up  to  something  higher  and 
nobler  than  mere^material  prosperity. 

*  John  Hedman  (1S96),  is  iustructor  in  modern  languagoa  at  Colby  University. 

7 


90  THE    STORY   OF   NEW   SWEDEN. 

Maine's  Swedish  colony 

is  situated  to-day  on  seven  different  but  adjoining 
towns,  forming  thus  one  compact  settlement,  which 
numbers  no  less  than  one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
fifty-two  Swedes,  divided  as  follows  : 

New  Sweden,  (town)  717 

Woodland,  279 

Caribou,  103 

Perham,  79 

Westmanland,  109 

Stockholm,  157 

No.  16,  Range  4,  8 

Total,  1452 

Nearly  thirty  times  the  little  band  of  pilgrims  that 
entered  these  woods  twenty-five  years  ago.  An  in- 
crease of  over  2,800  per  cent. 

The  following  statistics  embrace  the  entire  Swedish 
settlement  —  the  Greater  New  Sweden: 

MARRIAGES,    BIRTHS    AND    DEATHS. 

From  the  date  of  the  settlement  to  the  present  day 
there  have  been  celebrated  102  marriages,  481  babies 
have  been  born,  and  140  individuals  have  died.  In 
the  last  number  are  included  many  who  died  in  Port- 
land, Augusta,  Boston  and  other  places,  but  are 
interred  in  the    New    Sweden    cemetery.     Yet   even 


ORATION   BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  91 

with  these  deaths  included,  the  births  out-number 
the  deaths  in  the  ratio  3.43  to  1.  Is  anything  further 
wanted  to  prove  the  vigor  of  the  Swedish  race,  and  the 
healthfahiess  of  the  cUmate  of  Maine  ? 

CLEARINGS. 

The  area  of  land  cleared  on  each  lot  in  the  colony 
varies  with  the  strength,  skill  and  circumstances  of 
the  settlers,  and  the  length  of  time  since  their  arrival. 
The  earlier  colonists  have  of  course,  larger  "  felled 
pieces  "  on  their  lots  than  the  later  comers ;  and  the 
few,  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  bring  with  them 
the  means  of  hiring  help,  have  made  more  rapid  pro- 
gress in  clearing  their  farms  of  the  forest,  than  the 
great  majority  who  have  been  compelled  to  rely  exclu- 
sively on  the  labor  of  their  own  hands.  Scarcely  any 
of  the  Swedes,  however,  have  cleared  less  than  twenty- 
five  acres,  most  have  cleared  from  thirty  to  fifty  acres, 
some  from  fifty  to  seventy-five,  while  a  few,  who  have 
acquired  more  than  one  lot,  are  the  happy  owners  of 
broad  clearings  of  more  than  one  hundred  acres  in 
extent. 

The  Swedes  have  cleared  their  land  in  a  superior 
manner,  all  the  old  soggy  logs  being  unearthed, 
smaller  stumps  uprooted,  and  the  larger  knolls  lev- 
eled. In  most  of  the  earlier  clearings,  the  stumps 
have  been  entirely  removed,  and  the  fields  plowed 
as  smoothly  as  in  our  oldest  settlements. 

In  the  aggregate,  these  Swedes  have  cleared  and 
put  into  grass  or  crops  7,630  acres  of  land,  that  twenty- 
five  years  ago  was  covered  with  a  gigantic  forest. 


92 


THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 


BUILDINGS. 

The  colonists  have  erected  : 

1  Capitol. 

4  Churches. 

3  Parsonages. 
7  School  houses. 

2  Starch  factories. 

5  Shingle  mills  (these  mills  also  have  rotary  saws, 

planers,  sticking  and  clapboard  machines.) 
305  Dwelling  houses. 
362  Barns  and  hovels. 


689  Buildings  in  all. 


ROADS. 


71  miles  of  road  have  been  built,  of  which  46  miles 
are  turnpiked  and  in  excellent  condition. 


LIVE    STOCK. 

Our  Swedish  settlers  now  own  : 


468  horses,                               worth, 

42,950 

287  colts,  under  3  years  old,     " 

5,810 

27  oxen, 

810 

479  cows,                                     " 

14,250 

313  other  neat  cattle,                 " 

2,504 

497  sheep,                                    " 

1,485 

150  lambs. 

300 

117  swine,                                      " 

936 

6000  poultry,                                  " 

3,000 

Total  value, 

$72,045 

ORATION   BY   HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  93 
CROPS. 

In  1894  the  Swedish  colonists  harvested  : 

Hay,  1500  tons,                   worth,  $  16,000 

Wheat,  3616  bushels,               «  2,905 

Rye,  4,215  bushels,                  "  3,086 

Oats,  60,000  bushels,               "  23,920 

Buckwheat,  3,445  bushels,      "  1,469 

Potatoes,  117,950  barrels,       "  117,950 


Total  value,  $164,330 

DAIRY. 

In  1894  the  dairy  product  of  the  colony 
amounted  to  30,000  pounds  of  butter,  worth,       $6,000 
5,000  pounds  of  cheese  "  500 


Total  value,  $6,500 


WOOL. 


In    1894    the    colonists    clipped    2,500 
pounds  of  wool,  worth,  $500 

EGGS. 

The  egg  product  of  1894    amounted  to 
24,000  dozen,  worth,  $2,400 

TOTAL  VALUE  OF  FARM  PRODUCT  FOR  1894. 

Crops,  $164,330 

Dairy,  6,500 

Wool,  500 

Eggs,  2,400 


Total,  $173,730 


94  THE  STORY  OF  NEW  SWEDEN. 

FACTORIES  AND  MILLS. 

Product  of  factories  and  mills  for  1894  : 

190  tons  starch,                       worth,  $11,720 

21.500,000  feet,  shingles,           "  39,750 

2,200,000  feet,  long  lumber,      "  17,600 


Total  value,  $09,070 

VALUE      OF     SWEDISH      BUILDINGS,      CLEARINGS,      TOOLS 

AND    STOCK. 

Churches,  parsonages  and  schools,  $   12,500 

Factories  and  mills,  25,500 

Farm  buildings,  200,450 
7,630  acres  of  cleared  land,  at  $20 

per  acre,  (cost  of  clearing),  152,600 

Farming  implements  and  machinery,  65,800 

Live  stock,  72,045 


Total,  $528,895 

Value  of  farm  products  for  1894,  $173,730 

Value,  factory  and  mill  products,  1894,  69,070 


Grand  total,  $771,095 

And  all  this  has  been  created  where  not  the  worth 
of  a  dollar  was  produced  twenty-five  years  ago. 

These  figures  alone  are  eloquent.  They  need  no 
eulogy.  They  speak  for  themselves.  They  tell  the 
story  of  difficulties  surmounted,  of  results  accomplished, 
of  work  well  done.  But,  my  countrymen,  those  of  you 
who  have  never  lived  in  the  backwoods,  can  have  no 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  95 

adequate  conception  of  the  vast  labor  and  toil  under- 
gone in  this  wilderness  to  create  the  results  I  have 
enumerated,  and  which  you  see  all  around  you.  A 
settler's  first  years  in  the  woods  are  a  continual  fight, 
hand  to  hand  with  savage  nature,  for  existence.  It  is 
pleasant  for  us  to-day  to  look  out  upon  these  broad 
fields,  green  with  the  growing  crops,  but  do  we  know, 
can  we  calculate,  how  many  blows  of  the  ax,  how 
many  drops  of  sweat  have  been  expended  in  turning 
each  one  of  these  seven  thousand  six  hundred  acres  of 
cleared  land,  from  forest  to  farm  ? 

The  story  of  New  Sweden  has  no  parallel  in  New 
England  since  the  United  States  became  a  Nation. 
This  Swedish  settlement  is  the  only  successful  agri- 
cultural colony  founded  with  foreigners  from  over  the 
ocean  in  New  England  since  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  surely  in  all  America  there  is  no  agricultural  set- 
tlement, so  young  as  ours,  that  surpasses  our  model 
colony  in  progress  and  prosperity. 

And  the  good  effects  of  the  founding  of  New  Sweden 
are  not  confined  to  this  colony  or  this  vicinity.  As 
early  as  1871  Swedish  artisans  and  skilled  workmen, 
drawn  to  Maine  by  New  Sweden,  began  to  find  work  in 
the  slate  quarries  of  Piscataquis  county,  in  the  great 
tanneries  and  saw-mills  of  Penobscot,  and  in  the  stores 
and  workshops  of  Portland,  Bangor,  Augusta,  Pitts- 
field,  Monson,  Houlton,  Presque  Isle,  Fort  Fairfield, 
Caribou,  and  other  cities  and  towns.  Since  the  found- 
ing of  the  colony  the  Swedish  girls  have  ever  fur- 
nished needed  and  valuable  help  in  our  families  in  all 
sections    of    the   state.       Some   Swedish    immii^rants, 


96  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

who  came  to  us  in  independent  circumstances,  pur- 
chased improved  farms  in  Presque  Isle,  Fort  Fairfield, 
Limestone,  and  other  towns ;  while  many  Swedes  with 
less  means  settled  on  abandoned  farms  in  Cumberland, 
York  and  our  other  older  counties.  These  deserted 
homesteads  have  been  placed  by  the  Swedes  in  a  high 
state  of  cultivation  ;  indeed  Swedish  immigration  is 
proving  to  be  the  happy  solution  of  the  "  abandoned 
farms  "  question  in  Maine. 

The  United  States  census  of  1890,  returned  a  Swed- 
ish population  in  every  county  in  Maine  except  Frank- 
lin, and  gave  the  total  number  of  Swedes  in  our  state, 
including  children  born  in  this  country  of  Swedish 
parents,  at  2,546. 

To-day  there  are  in  Maine  more  than  3,000  Swedes 
as  the  direct  result  of  the  Swedish  immigration  enter- 
prise. 

Furthermore  the  good  accomplished  by  New  Sweden 
is  not  limited  by  the  boundaries  of  our  state.  Skilled 
workmen  from  New  Sweden  early  obtained  employ- 
ment in  the  mills,  fiictories  and  workshops  of  Boston, 
Worcester,  Lowell,  Fall  River,  Springfield  and  Brock- 
ton in  Massachusetts;  Manchester  and  Concord  in 
New  Hampshire ;  Rutland  and  Bennington  in  V(n-- 
mont ;  Providence  and  Pawtiicket  in  Rhode  Lsland ; 
New  Haven,  Hartford.  Bridgeport  and  Waterbury  in 
Connecticut,  and  in  other  manufacturing  centers  all 
over  New  England.  And  each  little  band  as  it  settled 
down,  formed  a  fresh  nucleus,  around  which  have 
continually  gathered  new  throngs  of  Swedish  immi- 
grants. 


ORATION    BY    HON,    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  97 

Thus  the  overflow  from  New  Sweden  has  reached 
and  benefited  all  our  sister  states.  In  fact  the  estab- 
lishment of  this  little  colony  of  Swedes  in  the  woods 
of  Maine  twenty-five  years  ago  turned  a  rill  from  the 
stream  of  Swedish  immigration,  which  before  all  flowed 
west,  upon  New  England,  and  added  a  fresh  element 
of  good,  northern  blood  to  every  New   England  state. 

And  Swedish  immigration  has  benefited  Maine  in 
other  ways  besides  the  direct  addition  of  several  thou- 
sand Swedes  to  our  population. 

The  best  part  of  this  fertile  town,  where  we  are  now 
assembled,  was  run  out  into  lots  in  1861.  For  nine 
years  Maiue  offered  these  lots  to  settlers.  .  The  offer 
was  made  under  our  settling  laws,  which  did  not  require 
the  payment  of  a  dollar,  only  the  performance  of  a 
certain  amount  of  road  labor  and  other  settling  duties, 
which  made  the  lot  virtually  a  gift  from  the  State  to 
the  settler.  Yet  not  a  lot  was  taken  up.  Until  the 
advent  of  the  Swedes  no  one  was  found  willing  to 
accept  his  choice  of  the  lots  in  this  town  as  a  gift,  pro- 
vided he  was  required  to  make  his  home  upon  it. 

The  opinion  of  many  in  this  vicinity  upon  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Swedes  in  settling  here  was  pointedly 
expressed  by  a  good  citizen  of  Caribou.  Walking  out 
of  the  woods  with  him,  in  July  1870,  a  few  days  after 
the  arrival  of  the  first  colony,  I  expatiated,  no  doubt 
with  enthusiasm,  upon  the  magnificent  results  which 
to  my  mind  must  flow  from  the  enterprise.  The 
gentleman  listened  to  me  patiently  till  I  had  finished, 
then  turning  squarely  upon  me  in  the  road,  he 
said : 


98  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

"  Mr.  Thomas,  you  may  say  what  you  like,  but  I 
don't  suppose  there  are  bottles  enough  in  that  colony 
to  hold  the  tears  those  poor,  deluded  creatures  will 
shed  before  their  first  year  is  out." 

And  not  only  was  New  Sweden  without  a  settler  on 
the  morning  of  July  23,  1870,  but  several  of  the  lots 
in  the  northern  portion  of  Woodland  plantation,  which 
had  years  before  been  taken  up  by  settlers,  and  on 
which  clearings  had  been  made,  houses  built,  and  crops 
raised,  were  now  deserted  by  their  owners,  the  houses 
with  windows  and  doors  boarded  up,  and  the  clearings 


BUILDINGS   OF   ALFRED   ANDERSON  IN   1895. 

commencing  to  grow  up  again  to  forest.  Such  was 
the  condition  of  the  last  clearings  the  Swedish  colony 
passed  through  on  its  way  into  the  woods.  These 
clearings  are  now  settled  by  Swedes  and  smile  with 
abundant  harvests. 

The  American  pioneer  who  abandoned  the  clearing 
nearest  New  Sweden  was  happily  with  us  at  our  decen- 
nial celebration  in  1880,  and  joined  in  the  festivities 
with  wondering  eyes.  Mr.  George  F.  Turner  then 
told  me  of  his  attempt  to  settle  in  these  woods.  He 
came  from  Augusta  in  the  spring  of  1861,  and  took  up 
lot  No.  7,  in  Woodland.  Here  he  built  a  house  and 
barn,  and  cleared  thirty-live  acres  of  land.     But  there 


ORATION   BY   HON.    W.    AV.    THOMAS,    JR.  99 


were  no  roads.  If  his  wife  wished  to  visit  the  villao-e, 
he  was  forced  to  haul  her  through  the  woods  on  a 
sled  even  in  summer.  No  new  settlers  came  in.  His 
nearest  neighbors,  Dominicus  Harmon  and  Frank 
Record,  left  their  places  and  moved  out  to  Caribou. 
Still  he  held  on  for  two  more  years,  alone  in  the  woods. 
At  last  in  the  fall  of  1868,  he  abandoned  the  clearins: 
where  he  had  toiled  for  seven  long  years,  and  moved 
out  to  civilization. 

"  I  left,"  said  Mr.  Turner,  "  because  in  the  judgment 
of  everyone,  there  was  no  prospect  for  the  settlement 
of  this  region.  The  settlers  around  me  were  abandon- 
ing their  clearings.  Everyone  said  I  was  a  fool  to 
stay,  and  I  at  last  thought  so  myself,  and  left.  Little 
did  I  expect  to  see  this  day." 

The  tide  of  settlement  was  ebbing  away  from  these 
woods,  when  a  wave  from  across  the  Atlantic  turned 
the  ebb  to  flood.     It  has  been  flood  tide  ever  since. 

With  the  founding  of  New  Sweden,  our  state  recov- 
ered from  the  check  in  her  career  and  again  took  up 
her  onward  march.  From  1870  to  1880  Maine  increased 
22,021  in  population  ;  from  1880  to  1890,    12,150. 

And  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  more  than  one- half  of 
the  increase  of  the  entire  state  in  both  these  decades 
has  been  in  the  county  where  lies  our  Swedish  settle- 
ment. Not  only  this,  but  the  towns  of  Aroostook 
County  that  exhibit  the  most  marked  progress,  are 
those  lying  nearest  New  Sweden. 

Woodland,  the  adjoining  town  to  the  south,  in  1870, 
numbered  174  inhabitants,  in  1890,  885 — an  increase 
of  over  400  per  cent. 


100  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

PerliJim  to  the  southwest  in  1870,  numbered  79 
citizens,  in  1890,  438  —  an  increase  of  more  than  450 
per  cent. 

Caribou  to  the  southeast,  the  town  which  has  ever 
been  the  center  for  the  trade  of  our  Swedish  settlers, 
and  which  perhaps  has  reaped  the  greatest  advantages 
from  their  settlement — Caribou  in  1870  numbered 
1,410  inhabitaats.  In  1890,  it  had  grown  to  4,087, 
—  an  increase  of  no  less  than  2,677  in  population.  And 
with  this  increase  Caribou  became  the  largest  town  in 
Aroostook  County. 

The  founding  of  New  Sweden  in  the  back  woods  of 
Maine  called  the  attention  of  our  own  country,  as  well 
as  Sweden,  to  our  state,  its  resources  and  advantages. 
The  files  of  the  land  office  show  that  in  addition  to 
the  Swedish  immigration,  American  settlers  upon  our 
wild  lands  increased  in  1871,  the  first  year  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Swedes,  more  than  300  per  cent 

When  the  Swedes  first  entered  these  woods  there 
was  not  a  mile  of  railroad  in  Aroostook  County.  The 
nearest  point  reached  by  a  railroad  was  some  seventy 
miles  distant  in  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick.  The 
journey  from  Portland  to  Caribou  then  took  three  days. 
Many  of  you  accomplished  that  entire  distance  yes- 
terday by  rail  in  ten  hours.  Two  railroads  now  run 
into  Caribou,  but  I  seriously  doubt  if  there  would  be 
a  foot  of  railroad  in  northern  Aroostook  to-day  had  it 
not  been  for  the  impetus  given  to  this  region  by  New 
Sweden. 

One  special  instance  among  many  may  be  given  of 
the  influence  exerted  by  our  Swedish  settlement.     Mr. 


ORATION    BY    HON.    W.    W.    THOMAS,    JR.  101 

Albe  Holmes,  a  potato  starch  manufacturer  of  New 
Hampshire,  was  induced  to  visit  Aroostook  County  in 
1870,  by  reading  a  newspaper  notice  of  New  Sweden. 
He  put  in  operation  the  first  potato  starch  factory  in 
Aroostook  at  Caribou  in  1872.  These  factories  quickly 
increased.  There  are  to-day  in  Aroostook  County  no 
less  than  41  starch  factories,  with  a  yearly  output  of 
8,000  tons  of  starch,  worth  $560,000  ;  while  the  raising 
of  potatoes  and  their  manufacture  into  starch  have 
grown  to  be  among  the  chief  industries  of  the  county. 

And  the  good  accomplished  by  New  Sweden  will 
not  stop  with  its  twenty-fifth  anniversary,  nor  cease 
with  this  summer  day.  This  successful  Swedish  colony 
will  go  on  and  fully  accomplish  its  mission.  It  will 
continue  to  push  out  into  the  great  Maine  forests  to 
the  north  and  west,  and  convert  township  after  town- 
ship into  well-tilled  farms  and  thriving  villages.  It 
will  continue  to  attract  to  all  sections  of  our  state  the 
best  of  immigrants  —  the  countrymen  of  John  Erics- 
son, and  the  descendants  of  the  soldiers  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  and  the  "  boys  in  blue  "  of  Charles  XII. — 
and  throughout  the  future  it  will  confer  upon  Maine 
those  numerous  and  important  advantages  which  a 
steadily  growing  agricultural  and  industrial  population 
is  sure  to  bestow  upon  a  commonwealth. 

To-day,  New  Sweden  pauses  for  a  moment  to  rejoice 
over  the  work  already  done.  To-day  also  New  Sweden 
gives  an  account  of  her  stewardship,  and  shows  you 
the  results  of  twenty- five  years'  hard  work  —  results 
achieved  by  the  never-flagging  industry,  the  rigid 
economy,  the  virtue,  faith  and  hope  of  our  Sw 
brethren. 


102  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

To  yoUy  American  visitors  —  to  the  State  of  Maine, 
these  Swedes  may  proudly  say,  ''  Si  monumentum 
quaeris,  cir  cum  spice.''  New  Sweden  stands  to-day  a 
monument  of  what  can  be  accomplished  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Maine  by  strong  arms  and  brave  hearts  in  the 
short  space  of  quarter  of  a  hundred  years. 

And  I  feel  I  am  but  giving  expression  to  that  which 
lies  in  the  heart  of  every  American  here  to-day,  when 
in  your  behalf — aye,  in  behalf  of  our  good  State  of 
Maine,  I  publicly  thank  our  Swedish  fellow  citizens 
for  the  great  work  the}^  have  wrought  in  the  woods  of 
Maine. 

But  most  of  all  are  our  thanks  due  to  you,  survivors 
of  that  first  little  band  of  fifty-one  souls;  to  you,  and 
your  comrades  who  sleep  in  the  graveyard  j'onder, 
who  with  faith  in  the  State  of  Maine  and  faith  in  its 
messenger,  twenty-five  years  ago  sailed  from  your 
native  land  to  follow  me  over  the  ocean,  and  who  here 
in  the  primeval  forest  laid  broad  and  deep  the  founda- 
tion for  the  great  things  we  have  seen  this  day,  and 
of  still  greater  things  which  will  be  seen  in  the  future, 
for  the  good  of  our  state. 

Maine  thanks  and  honors  you.  You  and  your  deeds 
will  not  be  forgotten  as  long  as  the  history  of  our  state 
is  recounted  among  men. 

As  the  orator  concluded,  the  applause,  which  had 
been  frequent  throughout  the  delivery  of  the  address, 
broke  forth  again  and  continued  for  several  minutes, 
the  audience  finally  rising  en  masse  and  cheering 
heartily. 


ADDRESS    OF    WILLIAM    WIDGERY    THOMAS.  103 

The  choir  sang, 

"Columbia,  We  Love  Thee." 

The  President:  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  now  to 
present  to  you  our  fellow  country-woman,  the  Swedish 
wife  of  the  founder  of  this  colony. 

The  applause  which  followed  this  announcement 
was  continuous,  and  the  enthusiasm  increased  as  Mrs. 
Thomas  arose  and  gracefully  bowed  her  acknowledg- 
ments. 

The  President:  I  have  the  pleasure  of  introduc- 
ing to  you  the  father  of  the  founder  of  the  colony, 
Hon.  W.  W.  Thomas,  senior,  ninety-two  years  old. 

Mr.  Thomas  as  he  rose  was  greeted  with  prolonged 
applause.  He  was  evidently  taken  by  surprise  in 
being  called  upon,  yet  despite  his  great  age,  he 
advanced  with  a  firm  step  to  the  front  of  the  tribune, 
stood  erect,  and  spoke  with  a  full,  clear  manly  voice. 

ADDRESS    OF    WILLIAM    WIDGERY    THOMAS, 
EX-MAYOK  OF  POKTLAND. 

Mr.  President,   and   Ladies   and  Gentlemen  : 

The  Chairman  has  given  me  the  credit  of  being  a  little 
older  than  I  am.  I  am  but  ninety-one.  I  will  not  be 
ninety-two  until  next  November,  the  seventh  day. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  here  on  the  decennial 
anniversary  of  this  colony  fifteen  years  ago.  I  recol- 
lect with  gratification  the  cordiality  and  attention 
which  was  shown  on  that  occasion  to  all  the  visitors 
here  by  the  Swedish  people.  It  gives  me  pleasure 
to  say  that  the  citizens  of  Maine  are  very  glad  to  have 


THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

you  as  their  fellow  citizens,  and  to  extend  to  yow  all 
the  privileges  and  the  protection  guaranteed  by  the 
national  flag.  We  are  proud  of  the  wonderful  advan- 
ces that  have  been  made  here  in  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  and  hope  that  you  wall  make  still  greater  ones 
in  the  future.     God  bless  you  all.     [Applause.] 

The  President:  There  is  one  thing  more  which 
must  certainly  be  done.  Since  we  have  seen  the 
father  of  the  colony,  the  mother  of  the  colony,  and 
the  grandfather  of  the  colony,  we  ought  surely  to 
see  our  little  brother,  Oscar  Thomas. 

And  the  little  boy  was  greeted  with  loud  applause 
as  his  father  placed  him  upon  a  chair  where  all  might 
see  him. 

The  President :  The  first  boy  and  girl  born  in  the 
colony.  Permit  me  to  introduce  to  you  Mr,  William 
Widgery  Thomas  Persson,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  White 
Goddard  Thomas  Swanberg,  born  Clas^,  and  named 
for  the  mother  of  the  founder  of  the  colony. 

The  young  man  and  woman  stepped  to  the  front  of 
the  platform  amidst  applause. 

The  President:  I  am  informed  that  we  have  two 
representatives  of  the  Governor  on  this  tribune,  and 
we  must  certainly  hear  a  few  words  from  them.  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  Mr.  Daggett  of 
Presque  Isle,  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council. 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    CHARLES    F.    DAGGETT.  105 

ADDRESS    OF    HON.    CHARLES    F.    DAGGETT, 

OF   THE   EXECUTIVE    COUNCIL. 

Mr.  President,  and  Ladies  and   Gentlemen: 

When  I  came  here  to-day  I  did  not  suppose  I  should  be 
called  upon  for  any  remarks.  I  am  not  here  for  that  pur- 
pose;  I  will  say,  however,  that  Governor  Cleaves  was  unable 
to  come  here  and  he  asked  my  associate,  Mr.  Shephard,  and 
myself  to  be  present  and  represent  him. 

I  think  it  was  in  1871  that  I  first  visited  this  colony.     It 
was  when  you  first  started.     You  were  then  beginning  your 
homes.     In  order  to  acquire  what  you  have  since  acquired, 
it  demanded  great  energy  and  perseverance,  and  I  am  proud 
to  say  that  this  colony  has    never    been    lacking   in    those 
qualities.     I  remember  when  I  was  here  in  1871  that  where 
I  now  see  beautiful  fields  I  then  beheld  for  the  most  part  a 
dense  forest.     I  noticed  then  that  your  homes  were  nearly 
all  log  houses,  built,  I  think,  by  the  State.     In  their  places  I 
now  see  good  frame  houses  and  commodious  barns,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  from  the  external  appearances  that  the  houses  are 
well  furnished  within.     I  can  safely  say  that  in  twenty-five 
years  hence,  the  progress  which  you  shall  then  have  made 
will  be  even  greater  than  the  progress  which  you  have  made 
in  the  last  twenty-five  years,  because  you  have  overcome  the 
first  great  obstacles  ;  you  have  made  your  homes.     You  have 
become  identified  with  the  State  of  Maine,  you  are  a  part  of 
Maine's   people.     It   has  been  your  pleasure  to  adopt  our 
language  and  our  customs,  and  also  to  enjoy  our  laws  and 
institutions.     On  the  other  hand  it  has  been  our  pleasure  to 
profit  by  the  example  of  honesty  and  good  citizenship  which 
has  ever  marked   your  dealings  with  men  and  conduct  in 
society.       Our    State    welcomed    you    within    her    borders 
twenty-five  years  ago.     To-day  she  rejoices  in  your  success 
and  in  the  fact  that  the  growth  and  prosperity  which  you 
must  inevitably  attain  will  add  still  more  to  the  wealth  and 
honor  of  our  State.      [Applause.] 
8 


106  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

The  President :  I  shall  now  call  upon  Mr.  Shep- 
herd of  Rockport,  another  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council. 

ADDRESS    OF    HON.    HERBERT    L.    SHEPHEKD, 

OF   THE   EXECUTIVE   COUNCIL. 

Mr.  President,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

I  am  exactly  in  the  situation  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Daggett  — 
I  did  not  expect  to  be  called  upon  to  make  remarks.  We 
came  here  at  the  request  of  the  Governor,  as  he  felt  that  the 
State  ought  to  be  represented,  and  he  gave  us  to  understand 
that  in  order  to  properly  represent  the  State  it  was  not 
necessary  for  us  to  make  any  remarks.  Being  a  man  of 
great  penetration  and  discernment  perhaps  he  concluded 
that  the  dignity  of  the  State  would  be  fully  as  well  main- 
tained by  our  keeping  silence.  At  any  rate  he  intimated, 
as  I  said,  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  for  us  to  say  an}^- 
thing.  The  result  is  that  I  am  here  absolutely  without 
anything  like  preparation  which  an  occasion  of  this  kind 
demands,  especially  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  unaccus- 
tomed to  public  speaking. 

I  will  simply  say  on  behalf  of  the  Governor  and  Council 
that  they  feel  a  great  interest  in  this  settlement,  and  that 
they  welcome  your  people  and  all  other  people  of  similar 
character  to  our  shores ;  and  I  assure  you  that  the  hand  of 
our  State  government  will  be  extended  to  assist  you  in  any 
undertaking  where  it  would  be  justifiable  so  to  do.  I  am 
glad  to  be  here  to-day ;  I  am  glad  to  see  such  evidences  of 
prosperity,  as  meet  the  eye  on  every  hand  in  this  community. 
It  is  certainly  wonderful,  the  advancement  that  you  have 
made  in  cultivating  the  soil  and  in  preparing  and  maintain- 
ing such  beautiful  homes  as  you  have.     [Applause.] 

The  President :  Kindly  extend  to  the  Governor  our 
thanks  for  the  part  that  the  Council  have  taken  in  our 
anniversary  meeting. 


ADDRESS  OF  HON.  CHARLES  A.  BOUTELLE.      107 

It  gives  me  now  great  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you 
our  representative  to  Congress  from  this  district,  Hon. 
Charles  A.  Boutelle,  whom  you  always  vote  for,  and 
whom  1  hope  you  will  always  continue  to  vote  for  in 
the  future.      [Applause.] 

ADDRESS  OF  HON.  CHARLES  A.  BOUTELLE, 

MEMBER  OF    CONGRESS. 

Mr.  President  of  the  Day,  and  my  Friends  and 
Fellow  Citizens,  and  —  as  he  has  so  pleas- 
antly added  —  MY  Constituents  : 

I  hope  you  have  all  been  as  much  interested  in  the  exer- 
cises here  to-day  as  I  have  been.  The  history  of  this  enter- 
prise inaugurated  twenty-five  years  ago  in  the  northern 
wilderness  of  Maine,  as  recounted  by  the  founder  of  this 
colony,  has  been  to  nie  as  intensely  fascinating  as  a  romance. 
As  I  listened  to  Mr.  Thomas'  recital  of  the  various  stages  of 
progress  in  the  development  of  this  community,  under  the 
peculiar  circumstances  which  surrounded  it,  I  could  not 
help  being  constantly  reminded  of  that  earlier  period  in  our 
country's  history  when  the  first  colony  was  established  upon 
American  soil.  And  I  think  that  others,  as  the,y  listened  to 
the  wonderfully  eloquent  stor3%  so  simply  and  yet  so  effec- 
tively told  by  my  distinguished  friend,  whom  I  congratulate 
here  upon  the  great  good  fortune  that  he  enjoys  in  being 
able  to  witness  the  rich  fruits  of  his  endeavor  in  behalf  of 
his  State  and  his  country  —  I  think  that  all  must  have  felt 
reminded  of  Longfellow's  beautiful  story  of  the  Plymouth 
colony,  portraying  the  simplicity  of  faith,  the  humbleness  of 
beginning,  the  sturdiness  of  strife  with  gigantic  obstacles, 
the  superb  self-reliance  of  the  people  who  had  braved  the 
storms  of  the  ocean  and  the  frowns  of  a  rock-bound  coast,  to 
form  a  new  home  in  the  wilderness,  which  have  found  echo 
iu  my  mind  and  my  heart  here  to-day  in  the  charming  idyl 
recited  by  the  lips  of  Maine's  Commissioner,  who  a  quarter 


108  THE    STOUY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

of  a  century  ago  founded  the  colony  of  New  Sweden  in  this 
virgin  county  of  Aroostook,  Maine.     [Applause.] 

I  have  been  familiar  with  every  stage  of  the  progress  of 
this  colony.  In  fact  your  histor}'^  has  been  coincident  with 
that  of  my  own  connection  with  public  affairs  in  this  state. 
It  was  in  the  spring  of  1870,  when  William  Widgery 
Thomas,  jr.,  of  Portland,  was  making  his  first  effort  in  the 
inception  of  this  enterprise,  that  I  became  the  editor  of  the 
then  only  daily  newspaper  of  Eastern  Maine  ;  and  I  remem- 
ber as  if  it  were  but  yesterday  the  conference  I  had  with  the 
father  of  this  colony,  in  the  little  editorial  room  of  the 
Whig  &  Courier  building,  which  was  afterwards  so  graphi- 
cally delineated  by  our  departed  friend,  the  Hon.  Daniel 
Stickne}',  in  the  Presque  Isle  Sunrise,  as  a  "  shingle  palace 
built  on  piles  in  the  mud  of  the  Kenduskeag  stream." 
[Laughter.] 

Mr.   Thomas.     I  recollect  it  well. 

I  remember  well  when  he  called  upon  me  to  talk  over  the 
ways  and  means  of  interesting  the  Maine  Legislature  in  the 
project  of  bringing  from  Sweden  an  acquisition  to  the  popu- 
lation of  Northern  Maine.  I  am  not  going  to  claim  an}'^ 
share  of  the  credit  for  your  success,  but  I  only  want  to 
remind  you  here,  and  to  remind  myself  in  a  gratifying  way, 
that  I  have  been  cognizant  of  all  3^our  struggles  and  been 
gratified  with  all  your  successes,  and  from  the  beginning  to 
this  jubilant  day  have  followed  the  progress  of  this  colon}^ 
with  an  interest  I  can  hardly  describe.  And  yet,  notwith- 
standing my  familiarity  with  the  history  of  your  endeavor^ 
notwithstanding  my  personal  interest  in  your  progress  and 
prosperity,  I  must  say  that  the  massing  of  the  statistics  of 
your  material  progress  by  Commissioner  Thomas  here  to-day 
has  filled  me  as  much  with  amazement  as  admiration.  Surely 
if  any  man  was  ever  justified  in  congratulating  himself  upon 
the  wonderful  fruition  of  an  idea  that  first  found  birth  in 
his  own  enterprising  brain,  and  which  was  carried  forward 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    CHARLES    A.    150UTELLE.  109 

to  success  largely  by  his  own  earnest  endeavor,  your  founder, 
your  earnest,  zealous  and  unselfish  friend,  Mr.  Thomas,  is 
entitled  to  feel  proud  and  gratified  here  to-day.  I  am  glad 
for  him ;  I  am  glad  for  the  Thomas  famil)%  that  they  are  able 
to  be  here  on  the  soil  of  a  people  whom  I  have  the  honor  to 
represent.  [Applause.]  And  in  the  persons  of  three  gen- 
erations of  their  family  receive  the  recognition  to  which  they 
are  entitled  at  your  hands.  [Applause.]  And  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  this  constituency  I  am  glad  to  extend  my 
thanks  to  Mr.  Thomas,  to  his  family  and  to  all  who  have 
cooperated  with  him  in  doing  such  a  great  service  to  Aroos- 
took County  and  to  the  State  of  Maine.  [Applause.]  I  am 
very  glad,  too,  that  he  has  not  only  the  good  fortune  to  be 
accompanied  here  to-day  by  his  venerable  father,  who  has 
already  exceeded  b}"-  a  generation  the  span  of  life  allotted  by 
the  prophet,  but  that  he  has  the  happiness  to  come  before 
you  and  before  the  people  of  Maine,  with  a  hostage  of  his 
faith  in  the  quality  of  the  Swedish  people  even  greater  than 
that  he  exhibited  when  he  founded  this  colony,  in  bringing 
to  us  as  his  best  and  sweetest  gift,  his  beautiful  and  accom- 
plished wife,  the  mother  of  his  Swedish-American  son. 
[Long  applause.] 

This  is  a  great  country  to  which  you  have  come,  my 
friends ;  it  is  a  great  State  of  which  you  have  become  a  part 
—  and  you  are  living  to-day  in  the  most  progressive  and 
thriving  and  promising  county  of  that  state.  Mr.  Thomas, 
with  just  pride,  has  chiimed  that  the  most  rapidly  progress- 
ing communities  of  Aroostook  Count}'  are  those  which  lie 
nearest  to  New  Sweden.  I  congratulate  you  also  tiial 
New  Sweden  is  situated  directly  adjacent  to  the  most 
prosperous  and  the  most  promising  communities  in  the 
State  of  Maine.  From  falling  back  in  the  last  decennial 
census  of  the  United  States,  Maine  was  saved  by  the  growth 
of  Aroostook  County,  and  what  New  Sweden  has  done  in 
contributing  to  the  growth  of  Aroostook   Mr.  Thomas  has 


110  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

told  you  so  graphically  and  so  conclusively  that  it  is 
unnecessary  for  me  to  again  go  over  the  details.  But  I  can- 
not fail  in  justice  to  the  prospects  which  are  opening  around 
us  to-day  with  a  beauty  and  promise  never  equaled  in  the 
previous  history  of  this  section,  I  cannot  fail  to  congratulate 
you  upon  all  the  indications  of  a  gigantic  stride  forward  for 
Aroostook  County  within  the  next  decade.  That  which  has 
taken  place  in  the  last  fifteen  years  since  I  last  had  the 
pleasure  of  visiting  this  colony,  is  almost  beyond  belief.  I 
could  have  driven  through  your  community  to-day  from 
border  to  border  without  having  recognized  the  New  Sweden 
of  fifteen  years  ago.  You  have  grown  beyond  the  knowl- 
edge of  your  friends  of  that  period,  and  yet  this  community 
in  which  I  stand  at  this  moment,  this  magnificent  section  of 
which  you  are  a  part,  has  but  entered  upon  the  splendid 
development  that  is  opening  before  it.  When  I  came  here 
to  your  decennial  celebration  —  and  I  see  on  the  platform 
here  to-day  some  who  shared  with  me  that  journey  —  we 
were  all  nigh^.  Ion?  struofglingf  with  the  circuitous  route  and 
the  heavy  grades  of  a  railroad  across  territory  of  another 
nation,  and  we  onl}^  reached  Caribou  in  the  grim  light  of 
the  early  morning  after  a  day  and  night  journey  from  Bangor 
to  get  there.  Yesterday  I  left  my  home  in  the  late  after- 
noon and,  reclining  upon  the  luxurious  cushions  of  a  Pull- 
man palace  car,  was  whirled  through  Houlton  and  Presque 
Isle  and  into  Caribou  in  the  early  evening.  You  are  to-day 
within  eight  miles  of  direct  railway  communication,  on  Amer- 
ican soil,  with  the  whole  United  States.  More  than  that, 
you  are  within  eight  miles  of  the  fastest  express  trains  that 
run  anywhere  in  the  American  Union.  In  the  twenty -five 
years  during  which  3^ou  have  been  striving  here  in  this  dense 
forest  to  hew  your  way  outward  to  the  populous  sections  of 
the  country,  the  great  march  of  progress  and  the  energy  of 
our  own  people  have  brought  the  business  facilities  of  the 
country  up  to  your  very  doors.     You  are  out  of  the  woods. 


ADDRESS  OF  HON.  CHARLES  A.  BOUTELLE.      Ill 

You  have  already  reached  the  top  of  Mount  Pisgah  and  can 
not  only  look  over  but  ride  on  the  picturesque  "  Bangor 
and  Aroostook"  over  into  the  promised  land,  and  the  out- 
side world.     [Applause.] 

I  have  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  progress  of  this  colony, 
not  simply  from  a  material  standpoint,  but  because  of  the 
character  of  the  people  of  New  Sweden.  My  visits  to  you 
have  not  been  frequent  because  my  district  is  one  of 
"  magnificent  distances,"  and  you  can  imagine,  perhaps, 
bettei-  than  before  you  heard  me  struggling  with  the  effort 
to  make  a  speech,  after  the  finished  oration  of  Mr.  Thomas, 
how  terribly  thin  I  should  roll  out  if  I  undertook  to  spread 
myself  over  the  whole  district  every  two  years.  The  terri- 
tory which  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  covers  more  than 
one-third  and  almost  half  of  the  area  of  the  State  of  Maine  — 
and  when  I  say  that,  I  mean  that  it  includes  a  great  deal 
more  than  half  of  the  best  pecjple  of  the  State  of  Maine. 
[Laughter  and  applause.]  While  I  have  not  been  able  to 
visit  you  frequently  I  want  to  give  you  assurance,  if  assur- 
ance be  necessary,  that  I  have  had  a  deep  interest  in  the 
success  of  this  colony  on  account  of  the  character  of  its 
people.  I  have  been  familiar  with  the  traits  of  the  Swedish, 
Danish  and  Norwegian  people  from  my  early  youth.  I  have 
tested  them  on  land  and  sea  ;  and  I  can  hardly  recall  a 
voyage  which  I  made  in  my  youth  and  early  manhood,  when 
in  the  stress  of  the  tempest,  when  the  gale  was  at  its  heiglit 
and  a  calm,  clear  eye  and  a  steady  hand  were  needed  at  the 
helm,  that  I  did  not  turn  to  some  Swede  or  Dane  or  Norwe- 
gian to  take  his  trick  at  the  helm  during  the  fury  of  tlie 
storm.  [Applause.]  I  am  not  here  to  flatter  you:  I  am 
thankful  that  I  have  no  need  to  ;  but  standing  here  to-day 
beneath  these  towering  maples,  and  under  the  shadow  of  the 
flags  of  these  two  nations  (pointing  to  the  large  United 
States  and  Swedish  ensigns  over  tlie  platform),  it  is  but  a 
graceful  and  a  grateful  thing  for  me  to  say,  that  in  a  profes- 


112  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

sional  life  that  covered  service  on  the  sea  both  in  the  mer- 
cantile marine  in  the  pursuits  of  peace  and  in  the  navy  in 
time  of  war,  I  have  found  no  men  of  any  nationality  who 
ever  proved  more  trustworthy,  more  capable,  more  truthful 
and  more  patriotic  than  the  Swedes.  [Applause.]  And 
speaking  from  an  experience  not  only  in  actual  sea  service 
but  from  a  long  legislative  experience  in  connection  with 
the  maintenance  and  recruitment  of  our  naval  service,  I  can 
say  to  you  that  no  better  men  of  foreign  lineage  stand  on 
the  decks  of  our  men-of-war  to-day,  and  no  men  who  can  be 
more  relied  upon  to  shed  their  blood  to  the  last  drop  in  the 
defence  of  the  stars  and  striijes  than  the  Swedish-American 
sailors  of  our  navy.     [Applause.] 

Twenty-five  years  I  what  a  history  it  has  unfolded  in  the 
life  of  this  country !  And  you  have  been  here  during  that 
great  period  working  out  your  full  share  of  the  glorious 
destiny  of  the  best  state  in  the  American  Union  and  the 
best  nation  under  the  sun.  I  would  not  attempt  to  add  one 
tint  which  might  mar  the  beautiful  picture  that  has  been 
drawn  by  the  master  hand  of  Mr.  Thomas  here  to-day.  He 
speaks  directly  to  you.  And  he  has  the  advantage  of  me 
not  only  in  his  long,  familiar  intimacy  with  you,  but  even 
more  in  the  fact  that  while  he  can  talk  to  the  men  in  the 
American  tongue,  when  he  wants  to  gain  the  hearts  of  the 
women  I  notice  that  he  drops  into  sibilant  phrases  in  Swedish 
which  I  did  not  understand.  [Laughter.]  I  envied  him 
his  linguistic  ability  in  that  respect,  but  I  may  console  myself, 
perhaps,  after  all,  by  the  thought  that  while  the  ex-Com- 
missioner, may  thereby  have  some  advantage  with  the 
maturer  women  of  the  colony,  who  retain  the  Swedish  ver- 
nacular, I  could  perhaps  "  stand  a  hand  "  with  him  in  my 
own  native  language,  with  that  younger  generation  of  New 
Sweden's  bright-eyed  daughters,  who  have  been  educated 
as  Americans  in  the  schoolhouse  over  yonder.  [Laughter 
and  applause.] 


ADDRESS  OF  HON.  CHARLES  A.  BOUTELLE.      113 

This  is  a  remarkable  occasion.  I  thought  as  I  sat  here  on 
the  platform,  of  the  anomalous  character  of  this  celebration. 
How  few  occasions  there  have  been  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind where  people  of  different  nationalities  could  assemble 
together  in  thanksgiving  alike  for  the  land  of  their  nativity 
and  for  the  nation  of  their  adoption,  [Applause.]  Such 
occasions  are  not  frequent.  There  have  been  many  sad 
experiences  on  the  part  of  people  who  have  left  their  native 
lands  for  foreign  shores.  There  have  been  men  who  have 
led  emigrants  to  new  countries  who  did  not  come  back  to 
face  their  colonists  after  twenty -five  years.  There  iiave 
been  cases  where  not  prosperity  but  disaster  has  followed 
such  adventures.  Thank  God  we  are  here  to-day  to  cele- 
brate a  glorious  success.  [Applause.]  We  are  here  to-day, 
American-born  and  Swedish-born,  including  those  born  here 
of  Swedish  parents,  to  be  thankful  to  the  Heavenly  Father 
that  the  day  is  fair,  that  the  sun  does  shine,  and  that  it 
streams  down  through  the  dancing  green  leaves  of  a  Maine 
forest  to  be  radiated  by  the  beautiful  colors  of  the  '■'  Flag  of 
the  Free,"  in  the  "  Home  of  the  Brave."  [Applause.]  I 
am  glad  that  in  standing  here  as  I  do  now  it  is  so  difficult 
for  me  to  distinguish  in  your  intelligent  faces  the  men  and 
the  women  and  the  children,  who  left  Sweden  to  come  to 
the  help  of  my  country,  and  the  American-born  men  and 
women  and  children,  who  have  come  here  to  your  festival 
from  Fort  Fairfield,  and  Caribou,  and  Presque  Isle,  and 
Bangor,  and  Portland  and  elsewhere.  You  have  become  a 
part  of  a  homogeneous  community.  You  are  a  part  of  us, 
and  we  are  a  part  of  you  ;  and  I  want  to  thank  you  for  what 
you  have  done  up  here  in  this  lately  unbroken  forest  of  the 
State  of  Maine  to  build  up  Aroostook  county  and  incite  and 
encourage  the  enterprise  and  the  capital  that  has  alread}'- 
brouglit  the  iron-horse  from  Bangor  across  the  forests  to 
Caribou  and  will  soon  send  its  cherry  whistle,  sounding  to 
Ashland  and  to  Van  Buren.     [Applause.]      I  want  to  thank 


114  THE    STORY   OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

you  and  my  friends  from  the  other  portions  of  Aroostook, 
not  only  for  what  they  have  done  to  build  up  this  county, 
but  for  that  grand  self-reliance,  for  that  superb  public  spirit 
and  generosity  which  has  caused  the  people  of  this  count}' 
and  broad-minded  men  in  ray  own  city  and  elsewhere  to 
step  forward  at  a  time  of  almost  unexampled  commercial 
depression  in  this  country,  and  pour  out  unstintedly  their 
means  and  devote  their  best  energies  for  the  accomplishment 
of  the  most  remarkable  railroad  enterprise,  considering  the 
circumstances,  that  has  been  carried  through  in  this  country 
in  twenty-five  years.  [Applause.]  You  are  going  to  reap 
the  rewards  of  your  liberality.  You  are  not  going  to  wait 
for  another  generation  to  reap  where  you  have  sown.  The 
golden  harvest  is  already  rolling  in  upon  you,  and  all  that 
Aroostook  County  needs  is  to  stand  steadfast  in  its  faith  in 
what  God  has  given  it,  to  go  on  with  your  strong,  right  arms 
and  with  your  sturdy  souls  in  making  the  most  of  the  mag- 
nificent heritage  that  you  enjoy  in  this  garden-county  of  the 
State  of  Maine,  and  within  the  next  twenty-five  years  we 
will  see  all  these  surrounding  forests  literally  "blossoming 
like  the  rose  !  "     [Applause.] 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  speech,  under  the  direction 
of  the  President,  the  entire  uudience  rose  and  gave 
three  cheers  for  the  speaker,  "  our  representative  in 
Congress." 

Mr.  Boutelle :  I  thank  you,  \\\y  friends.  If  you 
ever  have  a  representative  there  who  is  one-half  as 
worthy  as  his  constituency,  he  will  have  good  reason 
to  be  proud.     [Applause.] 

A  selection  of  music  was  finely  rendered  by  the  band. 

The  President :  I  will  now  introduce  to  you  Col. 
Fred  N.  Dow,  a  member  of  Governor  Perham's  council 
in  the  early  days  of  New  Sweden. 


ADDRESS    OF    COL.    FRED   N.    DOW.  115 

ADDRESS    OF    COL.    FRED    N.    DOW, 

LATELY   COLLECTOR   OF   THE    PORT   OF    PORTLAND. 

Mr.  President: 

A  meeting  which  is  held  like  this  in  a  community  which 
owes  its  birth  to  a  Thomas,  and  whicli  names  its  children 
for  a  Thomas,  might  well  be  called  a  family  gathering  in 
which  any  is  an  intruder  who  cannot  tlirough  kinship  with 
our  friend  the  ex-Commissioner,  or  through  some  connection 
with  the  enterprise  with  which  his  name  is  inseparably  con- 
nected, show  his  right  to  participate  therein.  I  cannot,  there- 
fore, better  introduce  myself  to  you  than  by  saying  that  long 
before  most  of  those  in  this  audience  knew  him  whom  you 
honor  to-day,  I  was  intimate  with  him ;  we  went  to  school 
together;  we  played  together,  and  we  have  been  friends 
from  boyhood  up.     [Applause.] 

I  also  recall  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  that  in  an  offi- 
cial way  I  had  something  to  do,  if  not  with  the  founding  of 
this  colony,  at  least  with  the  supervision  of  it,  in  its  early 
days.  It  was  my  duty  as  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council  to  give  attention  to  matters  of  moment  in  the  incip- 
ient days  of  this  enterprise,  to  consider  the  expenditures  in 
connection  with  it,  and  to  pass  opinion  upon  the  question 
whether  the  State  was  expending  too  much.  And  I  am  free 
to  say  that  whatever  I  might  have  then  thought,  to-day 
when  there  is  spread  before  me  such  evidences  of  your  pru- 
dence and  prosperity,  I  am  glad  to  believe  that  there  was 
nothing  then  provided  too  rich  for  your  blood,  and  whatever 
was  done  by  the  State  to  found  this  colony  was  a  wise  invest- 
ment.     [Applause.] 

What  I  have  seen  to-day  in  and  about  this  community  is 
an  inspiring  revelation  ;  but  I  confess  that  when  some  twenty 
years  ago  or  more  it  was  my  privilege  and  pleasure  to 
accompany  my  friend,  the  then  Commissioner  Thomas,  on  a 
visit  to  this  colony,  I  think  on  the  occasion  to  which  he  has 


ll(i  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

alluded,  wlieu  the  State  surrendered  the  control  of  it  and 
committed  its  destinies  to  the  care  of  its  own  people,  I  had 
grave  doubts  as  to  its  future.  I  saw  then  only  the  almost 
trackless  forest  in  which  you  were  to  try  to  establish  your 
homes ;  I  saw  then  a  thousand  and  one  obstacles,  which  to 
my  imagination,  all  untutored  to  such  surroundings,  seemed 
almost  insurmountable,  and  I  feared  this  colony  would  have 
only  a  struggle  for  existence  a  few  short  years  and  then  die 
out,  as  otiier  settlements  in  this  vicinity  had  before  failed. 
But  I  looked  only  at  one  side  of  the  picture.  I  considered 
only  a  part  of  the  elements  which  would  enter  into  the 
solution  of  the  problem.  I  failed  to  weigh  the  effect  of  the 
pluck,  the  push,  the  energy,  which  you  had  brought  with 
you  from  your  native  land,  those  inborn  electrical  forces 
without  which,  whatever  else  be  possessed,  man  can  do  Uttle, 
and  with  which,  though  everything  is  lacking,  so  much  can 
be  accomplished.  [Applause.]  And  I  am  glad  to  come 
back  here  to-day,  after  a  lapse  of  twenty  years,  to  acknowl- 
edge that  I  was  mistaken,  to  admit  that  I  was  a  prophet  of 
evil,  and  to  freely  confess  that  I  did  not  have  the  faith  in 
you  to  which  you  were  entitled,  and  to  congratulate  you  all 
upon  the  magnificent  results  of  your  enterprise.  [Applause.] 
As  I  stand  here  under  the  flags  of  your  country  and  mine 
—  our  country  now,  thank  God  I  can  say  —  I  cannot  forget 
that  in  similarity  of  experience  and  history  we  are  after  all 
but  one  people.  Many  of  you  only  a  few  years  since  left 
your  homes  abroad  and  came  into  the  same  wilderness  to 
which  the  ancestors  of  others  of  us  came  years  ago,  and 
what  you  have  experienced  and  accomplished  in  3'ou  own 
lives,  to  transmit  to  your  children,  we  have  inherited 
from  our  fathers,  who,  though  before  you,  like  you  came 
into  the  wilds  of  early  New  England  to  conquer  a  home 
for  themselves  and  for  us,  their  children.  Our  differences, 
therefore,  are  after  all  but  in  a  name.     You  are  now  with 


ADDRESS    OF    COL.    FRED    N.    DOW.  117 

US  and  of  us,  and  as  you  have  contribated  so  much  to  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  this  immediate  vicinity,  so  to  you 
in  common  with  us  is  committed  the  future  of  what  is  now 
as  much  your  state  as  it  is  ours.  And  so  as  I  look  forward 
I  believe  that  here  in  Maine  —  the  birthplace  of  most  of  us, 
the  adopted  home  of  the  rest  of  us,  the  prized  abiding-place 
of  all  of  us  —  it  is  in  a  union  of  that  spirit  of  enterprise  by 
which  material  prosperity  is  to  be  secured  with  that  self- 
respect  which  is  the  foundation  upon  which  all  the  higher 
elements  of  progressive  civilization  must  be  built,  that  the 
grandeur  of  all  that  pertains  to  a  great  state  is  to  be  assured. 
And  for  us  to  the  manor  born,  what  is  the  lesson  taught 
by  all  that  has  been  accomplished  in  this  vicinity  during  the 
twenty-five  years,  the  completion  of  which  we  celebrate 
to-day  ?  Is  it  not  that  there  is  no  better  place  in  which  to 
live  than  in  Maine  ?  [Applause.]  Here  the  sky  above  is 
just  as  blue  as  anywhere;  here  the  soil  is  just  as  prolific; 
here  the  waters  are  as  pure ;  here  the  air  is  as  healthy,  as 
can  be  found  anywhere  the  world  over.  Here  abounds  as 
much  as  anywhere  all  that  makes  for  prosperity  and  pro- 
gress. If  indeed  it  is  proper  to  regard  life  as  a  mere  lottery 
in  which  prizes  and  blanks  are  awarded  by  chance,  it  may 
be  true  that  great  luck  may  sometimes  be  found  elsewhere, 
but  for  every  prize  there  are  so  many  blanks  that  no  one 
who  has  a  chance  in  Maine  ought  to  venture  elsewhere. 
For  we  may  justly  claim  that  nowhere  in  all  the  range  of 
the  rising  and  setting  sun  is  there  to  be  found  a  spot  where 
more  satisfactory  returns  are  surer  to  be  won  than  right  here 
in  our  own  good  state  by  just  such  enterprise,  industry,  and 
integrity  as  you,  my  friends  from  Sweden,  have  brought  into 
this  country.     [Applause.] 

The  President:     I  now  have  the  plecisure  of  intro- 
ducing Hon.  Albion  Little  of  Portland. 


118  the  story  of  new  sweden. 

address  of  hon.  albion  little  of  portland. 

Mr.  President  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

A  little  party  of  us  in  the  city  of  Portland  have  been 
looking  forward  for  the  last  two  or  three  weeks  with  fond 
anticipations  of  a  grand  good  time  in  coming  to  the  county 
of  Aroostook  and  to  the  town  of  New  Sweden,  and  I  have 
to  sa^'  to  you  on  this  deliglitful  occasion  that  our  fondest 
anticipations  are  more  than  realized,  and  that  we  are 
extremely  happy  in  coming  to  your  quarter-century  celebra- 
tion and  being  introduced  to  you  imd  having  an  opportu- 
nity of  knowing  you  better  than  we  have  heretofore. 
[Applause.] 

I  want  to  say  to  you,  who  have  not  recently  traveled  to 
the  westward,  that  it  is  a  most  delightful  trip  from  Portland 
to  Caribou  by  railroad.  A  vestibule  train  starts  from  the 
Union  Station,  Portland,  at  11.10  A.  M.,  over  the  Maine 
Central  Railroad,  which  is  one  of  the  best  managed  rail- 
roads in  the  United  States,  and  comes  down  to  Bangor 
where  you  may  be  transferred  to  the  Bangor  and  Aroos- 
took Railroad,  and  come  on  to  Caribou  in  a  ver}'^  short  time, 
arriving  at  nine  o'clock  the  same  evening.  This  is  a  mag- 
nificent railroad  route  coming  to  your  doors.  Tliis  railroad 
brings  you  in  close  contact  with  the  outer  world. 

You  may  well  be  proud  of  your  railroad  facilities.  Do 
you  know  that  such  railroad  facilities  would  not  have  been 
offered  so  soon  to  Aroostook  County  but  for  this  settlement 
of  Swedes  in  New  Sweden  ? 

You  have  given  great  credit  to  ray  distinguished  friend, 
Hon.  W.  W.  Thomas  jr.,  a  son  of  not  only  one  of  Portland's 
but  also  of  Maine's  most  distinguished  and  honored  citizens 
for  his  sagacity,  his  wisdom  and  his  leadership  in  bringing 
this  colony  to  this  place;  and  3'^ou  do  well.  He  has 
been  a  faithful  leader.  He  has  led  you  to  a  goodly  land. 
There  is    no  better    farming    land  on    the    American    con- 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    ALBION    LITTLE.  119 

tinent  than  this  which  lies  here  in  Aroostook  County. 
[Applause.]  I  have  sometimes  wondered  why  this  colony 
ever  came  here.  Why  did  you  come  to  Maine  ?  Why  did 
you  come  to  Aroostook  County?  Why  did  you  come  to 
this  place  now  called  New  Sweden?  You  came  here  when 
the  watchword  was  "  Go  West,  young  man  !  Go  West  and 
grow  up  with  the  country  !  " 

You  have  answered  these  questions  here  when  you  say 
that  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  Mr.  Thomas,  whom  you 
have  seen  fit  to  honor  as  "  Father  Thomas,"  came  to  you  in 
your  homes  and  told  you  of  this  great  country,  and  that 
when  he  was  hunting  for  game  in  the  far-off  wild  woods  of 
Maine,  he  had  discovered  some  very  excellent  farming  land, 
most  favorably  located  in  a  healthy  climate,  well  watered  by 
living  springs,  lakes  and  rivers,  which  could  be  had  on  very 
favorable  terms,  for  the  taking  and  clearing. 

Although  Mr.  Thomas  was  then  but  a  young  man,  his 
honest  purpose  and  earnest  endeavors  inspired  your  confi- 
dence. Without  further  guarantee,  you  banded  yourselves 
together  into  a  little  colony  and,  trusting  in  your  God  and 
your  accepted  leader,  leaving  behind  kindred,  homes  and 
native  land,  sailed  over  the  wide,  wide  ocean,  crossed  seas 
and  rivers,  and  traversed  the  unbroken  forest  to  make  for 
yourselves  new  homes  in  the  wild  woods  of  Aroostook 
County,  where  only  wild  beasts  roamed.  Here  for  ages  the 
wild  deer,  moose  and  caribou  had  full  sway,  unmolested 
save  by  an  occasional  huntsman. 

Twenty-five  years,  quarter  of  a  century,  have  come  and 
gone.  Hard  times  and  long  days  of  toil  and  hardships  have 
come  and  gone;  and  to-day  we  see  the  results  of  your  toil. 

The  woodman's  ax,  the  farmer's  plow  and  the  mechanic's 
tools  have  done  their  work,  and  they  have  done  it  well. 
Instead  of  the  lofty  pines,  the  grand  old  oaks,  the  evergreen 
cedars  and  other  woods,  we  see  immense  grain  fields  and 
vast  fields  of   waving   grasses   and    broad    acres   of  thrifty 


120  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

growing  potatoes,  and  well-fed  horses  and  cattle  on  every 
hillside  and  plain.  Instead  of  the  old  log  cabin  of  your 
eaily  settlement  in  the  forest,  we  see  well-planned  framed 
houses  and  comfortable  homes  on  well-made  roads.  We 
also  see  handsome  chniches  where  you  worship  God  on  His 
holy  day,  and  good  schoolhouses  where  your  children  are 
taught  in  the  language  of  the  country.  All  these  are  in  har- 
mony and  keeping  with  modern  civilization. 

Upon  the  advice  of  Mr.  Thomas  you  came  here,  at  the 
same  time  when,  under  the  advice  of  Horace  Greeley,  car- 
load after  carload  of  the  young  men  of  Maine  were  going 
into  the  great  western  country  and  settling  upon  its  vast 
prairies.  Many  of  them  wisli  they  were  back  again,  wish 
they  had  had  the  councils  and  advice  of  Mr.  Thomas  and 
gone  east  into  Aroostook  County  and  into  New  Sweden, 
where  they  would  have  been  fur  better  off.  Some  of  them 
are  turning  their  faces  this  way  again.  Their  sons  and 
daughters  are  looking  eastward.  This  is  the  promised  land. 
Recent  developments  have  shown  that  the  State  of  Maine  is 
the  best  state  in  the  union  for  farming.  [Applause.]  More 
than  that  it  is  the  best  state  on  this  continent  to  raise  states- 
men in.  [Applause.]  [A  voice:  correct.]  And  as  good 
as  that,  it  is  the  best  state  on  the  American  continent  to 
raise  children  in.     [Laughter  and  applause.] 

If  Horace  Greeley  were  alive  to-day  and  could  see  the  State 
of  Maine  as  we  see  it,  I  have  no  doubt  he  would  agree  with 
nic  in  giving  this  advice:  Young  man  and  middle-aged 
man,  stay  where  you  are.  Cut  down  more  trees,  clear  more 
land,  dig  up  more  stumps,  plow  more  land,  plant  more  pota- 
toes, and  tickle  the  earth  with  hoe  and  spade,  and  laugh  in 
time  of  harvest. 

This  ought  to  be,  as  it  is,  a  proud  and  happy  day  for  you 
all,  as  well  as  for  Mr.  Thomas.  It  is  a  sort  of  red  letter 
day  for  him  with  the  full  light  of  noonday  sun  turned  upon 
his  noble  deeds  and  great  achievements. 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    SETH    L.    LARRABEE.  121 

As  I  have  said  you  do  well  to  give  unstinted  credit  to  my 
distinguished  friend  for  his  great  goodness  to  you  in  bring- 
ing you  so  safely  to  this  promised  land.  It  is  right.  But, 
m}'  friends,  did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that  perhaps  his  kind 
acts,  great  wisdom,  his  great  faithfulness  toward  you,  and 
his  noble  deeds,  may  have  been  the  very  stepping-stone  to 
that  mansion  of  a  nobleman  in  your  native  land,  where  he 
entered  and  wooed  and  won  one  of  the  brightest  and  fairest 
daughters  in  all  that  charming  land  of  the  midnight  sun  to 
be  his  faithful  and  loving  wife.     [Applause.] 

Did  it  ever  occur  to  you  that  if  his  connection  with  this 
colony  contributed  in  any  way,  directly  or  indirectly,  to 
make  this  beautiful  woman  queen  of  his  home,  he  has  been 
amply  repaid.     Yes,  one  hundred-fold.     [Great  applause.] 

At  this  point  the  President  sprang  to  his  feet  and 
shouted  to  the  audience,  "  Stand  up  and  give  a  cheer 
for  IVIr.  Thomas'  Swedish  wife."  And,  under  cover  of 
the  cheering  that  ensued,  Mr.  Little  resumed  his  seat, 
the  President  apologizing  for  interrupting  the  course 
of  the  speech,  and  explaining  that  the  enthusiasm 
aroused  by  the  speaker  had  quite  carried  him  away. 

The  President:  I  have  the  pleasure  of  introduc- 
ing to  you  Hon.  Seth  L.  Larrabee  of  Portland,  whom 
the  people  of  New  Sweden  liope  to  see  the  next 
Speaker  of  the  Maine  House  of  Representatives. 
[Applause.] 

ADDRESS    OF     HON.     SETH     L.     LARRABEE     OF     PORTLAND, 

BEPBESENTATIVE   TO   THE   MAINE    LEQISLATUKE. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemkn  : 

I  only  come  forward  to  speak  the  great  pleasure  I  have  in 
attendhig  these  very    interesting  exercises,  and  to  tell  you 
9 


122  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

how  deeply  I  was  impressed  as  I  drove  across  your  country, 
over  your  remarkably  good  roads  this  morning,  and  am  still 
impressed,  with  the  evidences  of  thrift  and  industry,  which 
appeared  upon  almost  every  iiill  top  and  hill  side  within  the 
range  of  my  vision.  The  orator  of  the  day  and  one  of  the 
gentlemen  who  have  preceded  me  have  referred  to  some 
financial  aid  that  was  furnished  by  the  State  to  this  colony 
in  the  early  days  of  its  existence.  I  think  there  is  no  visitor 
present  upon  this  tribune  or  in  this  auditorium  who  will  not 
cheerfully  admit  that  whatever  sum  was  then  paid  for  your 
assistance,  was  a  remarkably  good  investment  for  the  State 
of  Maine.  [Applause.]  The  Swedes  of  Maine  owe  no 
financial  debt  to  the  State.  They  owe  her  nothing  but  loy- 
alty to  her  institutions  and  her  laws  and  that  degree  of 
loyalty  only  which  they  have  for  a  generation  cheerfully 
rendered.  [Applause.]  The  obligation  moves  from  the 
opposite  party.  The  State  owes  to  you  the  thanks  of  the 
present  generation  and  of  all  future  generations  of  its  citi- 
zens for  the  great  object  lessons  in  frugality,  thrift,  industry 
and  prosperity  which  you  have  so  fully  and  practically 
illustrated  upon  these  hills  of  northern  Maine.     [Applause.] 

The  President:  I  shiill  now  call  upon  Hon.  Edward 
Wiggin  of  Presque  Isle,  one  of  our  State  senators  from 
Aroostook  County. 

ADDRESS    OF    HON.     EDWARD     WIGGIN    OF    PRESQUE    ISLE. 

STATE   SENATOR. 

Mr.  President,  and  Fellow  Citizens  of  New  Sweden: 
I  should  most  gladly  have  declined  the  invitation  to  say  a 
word  to  you  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  but  at 
the  earnest  request  of  your  president,  and  also  of  my  friend 
Mr.  Thomas,  I  will  say  one  word,  merely.  In  the  first  place, 
fellow  citizens,  I  congratulate  you  most  heartily  upon  the 
:iuccess    which  has  attended    the  efforts  of  yourselves  and 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    EDWARD    WIGGIN.  123 

your  sires  and  your  mothers  upon  this  wilderness  towiisliip, 
which  has  made  this  day  and  the  celebration  of  this  day 
possible.  I  know  something  of  the  history  of  this  colony. 
I  watched  it  from  its  birth,  from  the  first  year  you  came 
into  these  woods ;  and  I  will  say  to  you  frankly,  and  espec- 
ially to  you  older  ones,  the  original  members  of  this  colony, 
that  when  you  reached  Aroostook  County  the  people  of 
Aroostook  had  very  little  faith  in  you.  We  did  not  believe 
you  would  stay  here  ten  years,  and  we  thought  it  would 
cost  more  to  get  you  out  of  the  county  than  it  ever  did  to 
get  you  in  here, 

Mr.  Thomas  :     That  is  true. 

Mr.  Wiggin :  That  is  the  idea  we  had  of  you.  But  we 
did  not  know  you  ;  and  to-day  I  say  I  congratulate  you  upon 
the  grand  success  which  has  made  this  celebration  possible. 
When  I  go  out  in  other  portions  of  the  state  and  try  to 
induce  others  to  come  here,  I  point  them  to  the  success  of 
this  colony  —  men  and  women  who  came  here  without  being 
able  to  speak  a  word  of  the  language,  who  knew  nothing  of 
our  customs,  of  our  manners,  of  our  ways  of  work,  but  who 
came  here  into  this  wilderness  township  and  hewed  out  their 
own  way,  until  you  have  now  one  of  the  most  prosperous 
towns  in  Aroostook  County. 

I  say  that  we  did  not  know  you,  but  we  ought  to  have 
known  better.  What  is  it  that  has  made  this  success  here? 
It  is  Anglo-Saxon  pluck.  You  are  of  our  blood.  Why  is  it 
that  you  have  so  soon  and  so  naturally  amalgamated  with 
us  and  become  in  only  twenty-five  years  an  Aroostook  town, 
an  American  town  ?  It  is  because  you  are  of  the  same  blood 
as  ourselves,  who  were  here  when  you  came.  I  say  it  is  a 
wonderful  thing,  the  success  that  you  have  accomplished 
here.  Think  of  it,  fellow  citizens  of  Maine.  At  the  close 
of  the  war,  "when  Johnnie  came  marching  home/'  there 
wasn't  a  tree  cut  on  this  whole  township  except  what  the 
lumbermen  had  cut  and  floated  down  these  streams  to  be 


124  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

sawed  at  the  mills  —  and  within  the  short  space  of  twenty- 
five  years  this  grand  success  has  been  achieved.  And  I 
want  to  say  to  you  as  an  Aroostook  man,  as  one  who  has 
been  interested  in  the  settlement  and  development  of  this 
county,  that  we  of  Aroostook  are  proud  of  you,  are  proud  of 
the  work  you  have  done  here,  and  that  Aroostook  is  glad 
and  proud  to  welcome  New  Sweden  to  the  sisterhood  of 
Aroostook  towns. 

You,  the  fathers  of  this  colony,  had  some  things  greatly 
in  your  favor  which  made  your  success  possible,  perhaps. 
In  the  first  place  a  colony  of  you  came  here  together,  and 
vou  could  mutually  aid  and  assist  one  another.  Another 
thing  was  that  you  had  a  true  and  tried  leader  in  whom  you 
had  confidence ;  and  I  venture  to  say  that  not  a  man  who 
came  across  with  that  ship  and  helped  to  settle  this  colony 
will  ever  say  that  W.  W.  Thomas  Jr.,  ever  went  back  on  him. 
[Applause.]  He  was  true  to  you  all  the  way  through ;  and 
to-day,  on  this  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  your  leaving  your 
native  land,  as  he  comes  back  to  you,  you  are  proud  and 
glad  to  welcome  him,  and  he  is  glad  to  meet  every  man  and 
woman  who  is  left  of  that  little  colony  and  their  descend- 
ants here  in  this  beautiful  town.  [Applause.]  Then  again 
you  all  thought  that  you  had  the  State  of  Maine  behind 
you;  and  although  as  Mr.  Thomas  says  you  had  not  the 
scratch  of  a  pen  of  a  contract,  you  had  the  honor  of  Maine 
behind  you  and  under  you  and  you  relied  upon  it,  and  you 
had  reason  so  to  do.  But,  as  my  friend  who  has  preceded 
me  says,  you  do  not  owe  the  State  of  Maine  anything.  All 
through  the  commencement  of  this  colony,  at  the  time  wiien 
these  trees  were  being  hewed  down  and  these  farms  made, 
you  i)aid  as  you  went.  You  paid  your  bills  as  you  went 
along,  and  the  State  never  had  a  pauper  in  New  Sweden. 

There  is  another  thing  that  I  am  proud  to  congratulate 
this  colony  upon  and  tliat  is  the  fact  that  when  we  look 
over  the  records  of  our  criminal  courts  it  is  rarely  if  ever 


LETTERS.  125 

we  see  a  criminal  there  whose  name  shows  to  us  that  he  is 
a  Swede.  I  say  it  is  a  record  to  be  proud  of.  [Applause.] 
I  don't  want  to  say  this  to  you  in  flattery,  I  don't  want 
to  flatter  you  in  any  way,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  this  as  a 
truth  —  that  the  County  of  Aroostook  is  proud  of  the 
success  you  have  made  here,  is  proud  to  welcome  this 
community  to  the  sisterhood  of  towns,  and  we  bid  you 
all  Godspeed  in  your  further  efforts  for  success  in  this 
town  of  New  Sweden.     [Applause.] 

The  President  then  read  the  following  letters  : 

STATE   OF   MAINE. 
EXECUTIVE    DEPARTMENT. 

June  19,  1895. 
Hon.  William  W.  Thomas  Jr.,  Portland,  Me, 

My  Dear  Mr.  Thomas:  — I  regret  exceedingly  that  official 
engagements  will  prevent  my  acceptance  of  the  cordial  invitation 
to  attend  the  celebration  of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the 
settlement  of  New  Sweden. 

The  colony  was  established  by  you  at  a  time  when  many  of  our 
sons  were  seeking  other  communities  and  states  for  supposed 
greater  opportunities  than  our  State  tlien  offered;  and  the  lapse  of 
twenty-five  years  has  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  inviting  Swedish 
immigration  to  our  State;  and  they  have  found  superior  advantages 
here. 

No  better  class  of  citizens  come  among  us.  They  are  intelligent, 
frugal  and  industrious;  they  are  loyal  to  our  laws,  and  devoted  to 
our  institution;  they  build  homes  among  us,  and  believe  in  the 
Christian  faith  and  the  schools.  The  State  has  profited  by  the  set- 
tlement of  New  Sweden;  and  the  appreciation  of  our  people  is  due 
to  you  for  the  great  interest  you  have  always  manifested,  and  the 
service  you  have  rendered  the  State. 

Yours  very  truly, 

IIenuv  B.  Cleaves. 


Portland,  June  18,  189.^ 
F.  O.  Landgrane  Esq.,  Sec.^y  Q.  C  Committee,  New  Sweden. 

yiY  Dear  Sir:  — I  have  to  acknowledge  your  very  kind  invita- 
tion to  be  present  at  the  Quarter  Centennial  of  your  town.  I  lirlped 
at  its  foundation,  and  am  glad  to  rejoice  with  you  over  tlu'  very 
creditable  past,  which  you  have  already  made  certain;  and  tlie  still 


126  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

better  future  I  am  sure  is  in  store  for  you.  Other  engajiemeuts 
prevent  nic  from  saying  so  in  person,  but  I  send  you  my  congratu- 
lations on  what  you  have  done,  and  my  best  wishes  for  your  future 
welfare.  Very  truly  yours, 

T.  B.  Rf:ed. 

At  the  call  of  the  President,  the  entire  audience 
now  arose  and  gave  three  rousing  cheers  for  "  Tom 
Reed,  the  next  President  of  the  United  States." 

Ellsworth,  Maine,  June  20,  1895. 
Hon.  William  W.  Thomas  Jr  : 

My  Dear  Mr.  Thomas:  —  I  regret  very  much  that  I  cannot 
attend  the  anniversary  celebration  of  the  settlement  of  New 
Sweden;  but  imperative  business  engagements  keep  me  here. 

When  you  brought  the  little  band  of  Swedes  from  the  Old  World 
into  the  state  of  Maine,  and  effected  their  settlement  in  our  young, 
border  county,  you  accomplished  one  of  the  most  picturesque 
events  in  the  history  of  the  State. 

Ever  since  that  day  I  have  watched  with  interest  and  delight, 
the  growth  of  the  little  colony  in  all  the  elements  which  go  to  make 
prosperity,  and  have  seen,  with  satisfaction,  its  harmonious  blend- 
ing with  the  older  population,  the  laws  and  the  institutions  of 
Maine. 

The  State  owes  its  gratitude  to  you   and   to  this  young,  frugal, 

sober,  happy  people  who   have  come  from  afar  into   our   midst. 

They  belong  to  us,  for  their  home  is  here,  and  their  loyalty  is  not 

to  their  mother  country,  but  to  our  commonwealth,  and  over  and 

above  all,  to  our  great  national  republic. 

These  Swedes  have  demonstrated  the  truth  of  the  old  Greek 
adage,  that  "  The  land  where  thou  prosperest  is  thy  country." 

With  every  good  wish  for  yourself  personally,  and  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  celebration,  I  am  Sincerelj'^  j'ourSj 

Eugene  Hale. 


Lewiston,  June  10,  1895. 
F.  0    Landqrane,  Esq.  : 

Dear  Sir:  —  I  have  always  felt  a  profound  interest  in  the  New 
Sweden  settlement,  and  have  delighted  in  its  constant  progress. 
For  the  present  accept  my  congratulations,  and  for  the  future  my 
good  wishes.  I  regret  that  previous  engagements  will  prevent  me 
from  participating  in  its  Quarter  Centennial  festivities. 

Very  truly, 

William  P.  Frye. 


LETTERS.  127 

L.EWISTON,  June  22,  1895. 
F.  0.  Laiidgrane,  Esq.,  Sec'y  of  Committee  : 

My  Dear  Sir  :  —  I  have  delaj'^ed  replying  to  your  kind  invitation 
to  be  present  at  the  Quarter  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  settle- 
ment of  New  Sweden,  in  the  hope  that  I  could  see  my  way  clear  to 
accept.    But  at  the  last  moment  I  find  myself  unable  to  go. 

I  need  not  say  to  you  that  it  would  have  afforded  me  great  pleas- 
ure to  be  present  on  an  occasion  intended  to  commemorate  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  a  town  founded  under  so  v;nique  cir- 
cumstances as  New  Sweden  was,  and  grown  into  so  manly  propor- 
tions in  so  brief  a  period.  It  seems  but  yesterday  since  mj'  good 
friend,  Mr.  Thomas,  pointed  the  way  of  the  stalwart  Swedish  pio- 
neers who  crossed  the  Atlantic  and  found  their  way  to  the  primeval 
forest  of  Aroostook,  where  now  appear  so  fine  farms  and  so  attrac- 
tive homes.  It  is  rarely  ever  that  so  early  success  crowns  the  work 
of  the  pioneers. 

I  most  heartily  congratulate  you  and  the  Swedish-Americans  of 
New  Sweden  on  the  happy  auspices  under  which  you  celebrate  the 
Quarter  Centennial  of  jour  prosperous  town. 

Please  accept  my  thanks  for  your  courtesj'^,  and  my  best  wishes 
for  the  success  of  your  celebration. 

Cordially  yours, 

Nelson  Dingley  Jr. 


Belfast,  June  15,  1S95. 
Hon.   W.  W.  Thomas  Jr.: 

Dear  Sir:  —  Please  accept  my  cordial  thanks  for  j-our  kind 
invitation  to  be  present  at  the  Quarter  Centennial  Celebration  at 
New  Sweden.  It  was  both  brave  and  enterprising  on  your  part  to 
enter  upon  so  great  an  undertaking  as  the  transferring  of  a  large 
colony  of  people  across  the  Atlantic  and  settling  them  in  tlie  fertile 
county  of  Aroostook,  which  is  becoming  by  the  energy  and  intelli- 
gence of  its  people  the  garden  spot  of  New  England.  The  success 
of  your  enterprise  is  Remonstrated  by  the  thrift  of  the  Swedish 
colony,  and  the  prosperity  which  seems  to  be  assured  for  them  in 
the  future. 

Their  intelligence,  civility  of  manner  and  willingness  to  work, 
cannot  but  secure  for  them  a  high  degree  of  prosperity,  and  materi- 
ally add  to  the  wealth  of  the  State.  Moreover  a  community  of 
diligent,  intelligent,  industrious  and  saving  people  will  not  fail  to 
have  a  good  influence  upon  other  communities  around  them.  I 
earnestly  congratulate  you  upon  what  I  feel  assured  will  be  the 
success  of  the  Quarter  Centennial  Celet)ration  at  New  Sweden,  and 
the  valuable  results  which  I  am  sure  cannot  fail  to  grow  out  of  it. 


128  THE    STORY    OF   NEW    SWEDEN. 

Hoping  for  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  Swedish  colony,  and 
tliat  tlie  people  of  our  State  will  never  fail  to  give  credit  to  you  for 
your  great  and  patriotic  effort  in  establishing  it,  I  am  with  sincere 
regards  Very  truly  yours, 

S.    L.    MiLLIKEN. 


Brunswick,  Me.,  June  23,  1895. 
F.  0.  Landgrane,  Sec.^y  New  Sioeden  Q.  C.  Committee. 

My  Dkar  Sir:  — It  is  with  much  disappointment  that  I  am  com- 
pelled at  the  last  hour  to  forego  the  anticipated  pleasure  of  being 
with  you  in  the  celebration  of  a  most  interesting  event  in  your 
history  and  the  history  of  our  State.  I  have  also  a  personal  reason 
and  right  to  share  3'our  satisfaction;  for  the  conditions  calling  for 
this  celebration  serve  to  justify,  after  many  years,  a  judgment  and 
sentiment  of  mine,  which  at  the  time  Avere  not  shared  by  some  of 
those  who  now  justly  applaud  your  success,  and  appreciate  its 
bearings  on  your  well-being  and  ours. 

Indeed  these  ends  are  not  no^v  diverse;  they  are  identified.  This  is 
the  very  ground  of  our  greeting.  We  are  together  citizens  of  this 
state  and  of  this  great  republic.  "Whatever  its  privileges  are,  what- 
ever its  glory  is,  whatever  its  corresponding  responsibilities,  we 
share  them  on  equal  terms  and  with  brotherly  regard. 

I  am  sure  our  people  recognize  the  great  qualities  which  have 
marked  the  race  of  your  origin  in  its  career  of  history,  and 
which  are  still  manifest  in  its  magnanimous  and  patient  bearing 
in  the  difficult  questions  of  the  day  affecting  your  old  kingdom 
across  the  waters. 

We  appreciate  what  you  bring  us  to  mingle  with  the  elements 
which  are  to  form  the  future  character  of  this  people.  You  rein- 
force for  us  the  strength  of  the  home  virtues  —  I  mean  by  this 
the  virtues  which  preserve  and  enoble  the  home,  and  so  reach  the 
vital  point  of  a  nation's  life.  Add  to  these  the  spirit  and  body  of  a 
brave,  energetic,  robust  manliness,  and  we  have  the  safeguard  of 
liberty  and  honor  and  true  prosperity. 

With  these,  you  take  your  jilace  with  this  great  people;  you 
cherish  the  hopes,  the  pride,  the  loj^alty,  wliich  will  ensure  the 
best  ends  of  living  for  all  the  citizens  of  the  republic.  You  accept 
the  duty,  the  service,  the  sacrifice  by  which  the  best  things  are 
won  and  held. 

In  the  great  issues  which  are  to  l)e  tried  in  this  country  within 
the  next  *' quarter-centurj'-,"  yqii  will  bear  your  part  well,  which  if 
not  called  to  be  conspicuous  in  public  history,  will  yet  tell  with 
irresistible  force  in  the  vital  currents  of  a  people's  character.  In 
the  sterling  qualities  of  manhood  and  womanhood  which  you  cher- 


LETTERS.  12  9 

ish  are  the'fiber  and  life-blood  of  which   human    history   is  to  be 
wrought. 

This  may  strike  rather  too  solemn  a  strain  for  the  festivities  of 
your  joyous  occasion.  If  I  had  the  inspiration  of  the  presence  of 
all  the  tokens  of  well-doing  and  well-being  which  surround  you,  I 
might  catch  the  key-note  from  you.  But  accept  what  I  say  as  also 
belonging  to  you,  and  as  coming  from  me  with  sincerity  and  affec- 
tion.   With  all  greetings  for  the  future  as  for  the  past. 

Truly  yours, 

Joshua  L.  Chamberlain. 


Paris,  Me.,  June  22,  1895. 
F.  0.  Landgrane,  Secretary  of  Committee. 

I  regret  that  I  am  compelled  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  being 
present  at  the  Quarter-Centennial  Celebration  of  New  Sweden,  I 
have  been  deeply  interested  in  the  establishment  and  growth  of  the 
"  Swedish  colony  "  from  the  beginning,  and  now  I  rejoice  with  you 
in  the  great  success  that  has  crowned  your  efforts.  You  have 
honored  your  native  land  and  have  added  honor  and  prosperity  to 
the  State  of  Maine,  Very  truly  yours, 

Sidney  Perham. 


OFFICE    OF   THE    EVENING    EXPRESS. 

Portland,  Me  ,  June  20,  1895. 
F.  0.  Landgrane,  Sec'y  Q.  C.  Comrnittee,  Nero  Sweden,  Me. 

Dear  Sir:  —  Your  kind  note  of  invitation  to  be  present  at  the 
celebration  of  your  Quarter  Centennial  is  received,  and  it  is  with 
great  regret  that  I  am  compelled,  by  press  of  business  engage- 
ments, to  forego  the  pleasure  which  a  trip  to  your  county  at  such 
a  time  would  give  me. 

Permit  me  to  express  to  you  my  cordial  congratulations  upon  the 
growth  and  prosperity  of  your  town  We  in  Portland  have  been 
much  interested  in  your  development;  first,  because  we  have 
learned  to  have  great  respect  for  your  people,  so  many  of  whom 
have  become  our  people;  and  second,  because  your  father  in  Amer- 
ica, Hon.  W.  W.  Thomas,  Jr.,  is  our  townsman.  So  we  have  watched 
and  applauded  your  efforts  to  grow  up  a  sturdy  settlement  in  the 
north  woods,  and  we  have  been  more  than  gratified  with  the  result. 

Thanking  you  most  sincerely  for  your  invitation,  and  wishing 
for  you  all  a  continance  of  happiness  and  prosperity,  in  this,  our 
common  country,  I  am,  sir. 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

George  W.  Norton. 


130  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

OFFICB    OF    aEXKUAr^    MA.N'AOER,    MAINE    CENTRAL    RAILROAD. 

Portland,  June  11,  1895. 
F.  O.  Laiidf/rane,  Esq.,  Secretary  New  Sweden,  Maine: 

Dear  Sir  :  —  I  beg  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  courteous 
invitation  to  be  present  at  the  Quarter  Oentennial  Celebration  of 
the  founding  of  New  Sweden  to  be  held  on  June  25,  and  to  assure 
you  how  deeply  I  regret  that  imperative  business  engagements 
will  prevent  my  acceptance 

You  of  New  Sweden  do  well  to  celebrate  this  anniversary  of  the 
founding  of  your  colony,  now  tirmly  established  in  our  grand  old 
commonwealth  after  a  quarter-century's  struggles  and  trials.  The 
State  of  Maine  is  proud  of  you,  your  sterling  worth,  your  great 
results.  You  may  well  take  pride  in  the  mental  worth,  in  the 
industry  and  economy,  in  the  indomitable  perseverance,  and  above 
all,  in  the  high  principles  which  have  ever  characterized  the  peo- 
ple of  New  Sweden.  You  have  accomplished  much  and  in  such 
manner  as  to  give  bright  promise  of  a  noble  future. 

I  desire  to  add  my  congratulations  to  the  many  which  you  will 
receive,  and  my  earnest  hopes  that  your  anniversary  may  be  as 
happy  as  the  past  it  celebrates.    Believe  me 

Very  truly  yours, 

Payson  Tucker. 


OFFICE   OF   GENERAL    MANAGER,  BANGOR    AND   AROOSTOOK    R.    R. 

Bangor,  IMaine,  June  11,  1^5. 
F.  0.  Landgrane,  Esq.,  Secretary,  New  Sweden,  Me.: 

De.\u  Sir:  —  I  hasten  to  thank  you  for  your  cordial  invita- 
tion to  be  present  at  the  Celebration  of  June  2.3,  and  to  express  my 
regret  that  engagements  elsewhere  will  prevent  my  accepting. 

I  know  that  the  colony  of  New  Sweden  has  been  an  important 
factor  in  drawing  population  to  Northern  Aroostook,  and  in  part 
made  the  Bangor  and  Aroostook  railroad  possible.  It  is  my  belief 
that  the  road  will  bring  a  still  greater  measure  of  development  and 
prosperity  to  your  model  Swedish  colony,  which  has  every  reason 
to  celebrate  the  wonderful  progress  made  in  the  first  twenty-five 
years  of  its  existence.  Yours  truly, 

F.  W.  Cram. 


Rev.  Frank  J.  Liljegren,  of  New  Haven,  Connecti- 
cut, a  former  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  New 
Sweden,  now  gave  an  address  in  the  Swedi.sh  hin- 
guage  which  was  received  with  applause. 


CLOSING   EXERCISES.  131 

The  old  settlers,  Capt.  Nicholas  P.  Clas^,  Nils 
Persson,  Anders  Swensson  and  Triils  Persson,  four 
members  of  the  original  colony,  then  stood  up  on 
the  tribune  where  they  had  seats,  and  were  pre- 
sented to  the  audience  by  the  President.  The  fifth 
survivor  of  the  original  twenty-two  men,  Nils 
Olsson,  the  first  lay  minister,  was  confined  to  his 
house  by  sickness. 

In  response  to  earnest  and  vociferous  calls  from 
the  Swedes,  Hon.  W.  W.  Thomas,  Jr.,  arose  and 
addressed  them  in  the  Swedish  language.  This 
speech  aroused  great  applause  and  laughter.  In- 
deed at  one  point  the  enthusiasm  reached  such  a 
pitch  that  the  Swedes  all  stood  up  and  cheered  loud 
and  lonsr.  but  what  it  was  all  about  the  editor  of 
this  volume  is  unable  to  say. 

Another  selection  by  the  band  closed  the  formal 
exercises  of  the  day. 

Tables  already  spread,  were  now  brought  forth 
from  some  hidden  nook  of  the  forest  and  placed 
upon  the  tribune,  and  here  the  guests  of  New 
Sweden  were  entertained  with  an  elaborate  and 
sumptuous  banquet,  while  the  Swedes  dined  in 
picnic  parties  throughout  the  grove. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  guests  drove  out  of  the 
Swedish  woods  carrying  with  them  golden  opinions 
of  New  Sweden,  but  the  Swedes  kept  up  the  cele- 
bration with  speeches,  music  and  song  till  close  of 
this  happy  and  historic  day. 


APPEN  DIX. 


THE    FIRST    SETTLERS. 

List  of  the  twenty-two  men  of  the  first  Swedish 
colony,  who  sailed  from  Sweden  with  Hon.  W.  W. 
Thomas,  Jr.,  June  25,  1870,  together  with  the  lots 
upon  which  they  settled,  in  the  township  of  New 
Sweden,  and  the  adjoining  Plantation  of  Woodland. 


Nicholas  P.  Clash, 
Nils  Olssoj^, 
Carl  Voss, 
Gottlieb  T.  Pilts, 
Oscar  G.  W.  Lindberg, 
Jons  Perssox, 
sven  svensson, 
Karl  G.  Harleman, 
Janne  Tj.  Laurell, 
Truls  Persson, 
Nils  Persson, 
Olof  G.  Morell, 
JoHAN  Petter  Johansson, 
Anders  Johansson, 
Anders  Svensson, 
Olof  Olsson, 

Pehr  Pettersson, 
Solomon  Johansson, 
Jonas  Bodin, 
Jonas  Bodin,  Jr., 
Frans  R.  W.  Plank, 
Jacob  Johansson, 


Lot  No.  135, 

New  Sweden. 

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138, 

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Woodland. 

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APPENDIX.  133 


THE    PLANTATION    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

Early  in  March,  1876,  some  thirty  of  tlie  first  com- 
ers in  the  colony  were  naturalized  by  the  Supreme 
Court  sitting  in  Houlton,  and  on  April  6,  1876,  New 
Sweden  was  legally  organized  into  a  plantation.  An 
election  was  held,  and  officers  chosen  the  same  day. 
The  following  were  the  first  officers  of  the  Plantation 
of  New  Sweden : 

Nils  Olsson,  1 

Gabriel  Gabrielson,     }    -Assessors. 

Pehr  O.  Juhlen,  J 

Carl  J.  Tornqvist,  Cierk, 

Teuls  Persson,  Treasurer,  Collector  and  Constable. 

John  Borgeson,  "j 

John  P.  Jacobsson,        ^    ^^^^""^  Committee. 

Petter  Pettkrson,       J 


134  THE    STORY    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 


THE    TOWN    OF    NEW    SWEDEN. 

New  Sweden  was  incorporated  as  a  town  on  January 
29,  1895.  The  first  town  election  was  held  on  the 
March  6,  1895,  and  the  following  persons  were  elected 
the  first  officers  of  the  Town  of  New  Sweden  : 


Selectmen. 


Lars  P.  Larson, 

Ola  II.  Nelson,  V 

Carl  G.  Ekman, 

Axel  W.  Tornquist,  Town  Clerk. 

Pehr  O.  Juhlin,  Treasurer. 

Anders  Nelson,  Collector  and  Constable. 

Erik  Ringdahl,  Constable. 

Michael   U.  Norberg,  SupH. 

F'bank  O.  Landgrane,  Clerk. 

Ola  H.  Nelson,  {^  ^^^^^^  Committee. 

Lars  Lundvall, 

Carl  J.  Johanson, 

Alfred  A.  Anderson, 

Carl  G.  Ekman,  |      y,^^^^^^  ^^^^^, 

Ola  H.  Nelson,  ) 


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